I don’t know if Danny DeVito was drunk when he appeared on The View last Wednesday, but I do know he was despicable.
The reason he gave for his much-publicized rude and distasteful antics was that he had spent the night as part of George Clooney’s posse. He claimed that the “last seven limoncellos” he had drunk with the sexiest man in the world were finally catching up with him.
So we have, once again, a celebrity using the always handy “too much to drink” excuse for being outrageous. But I don’t buy it. With or without the liqueurs, diminutive Danny would have acted exactly the same way — because he has no reason to think that he was saying the wrong thing in the wrong place. Now that The View has Rosie O’Donnell as head-host , every Hollywood liberal who goes on the show feels comfortable bashing the president for a laugh, a round of applause, and a guffaw from Rosie. Danny was just trying to be the most outrageous so far.
In his five minutes, Danny managed to insult the president with a Three Stooges routine, call him “numb nuts,” and crow, “What about that hat trick last week! Rumsfeld, the House, and the Senate!” Rosie shouted “Ta-da!” even before Danny did.
Then Danny went on to give us his tale of “My Night in the Lincoln Bedroom.” Wonder how he got in there. Did he really give Bill and Hill that much money? Or did Bill just like having celebrities around so much that even a B-Lister like Danny and a C-Lister like his wife Rhea Perlman would qualify for a night in that historic setting?
And how did Danny and Rhea react to the honor? Did they read Lincoln’s handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address displayed in the room? Did they reflect on what may be the best and most important American speech ever given ? Did they think about how those few words commemorated the bloodiest and most significant battle in our nation’s history? Did they think, even for a moment, about President Lincoln?
Are you kidding? Would that get a laugh on The View? Here’s what Danny said: “We went in and made it our business to really wreck the joint.. I mean, every place in that bedroom was…” — he stopped and searched for the word.
“Utilized?” O’Donnell suggested.
“Utilized!” DeVito agreed, to laughter and applause.
Not everyone was quite as amused as Danny and Rosie. Barbara Walters, also a co-host on The View, definitely looked a little less than happy. Afterwards, Danny’s agent suggested that the comedian was considering apologizing to Walters for his unbridled high spirits.
Michael Richards, after using the “N-word,” apologized to African-Americans. Mel Gibson, after insulting a Jewish policeman, apologized to Jews. When Danny insulted the president and the presidency, he thought it appropriate, obviously, to apologize to Barbara Walters — a bigger celebrity than he is, and one who might not book him again. Figures.
On the next day’s show, Walters said no apologies were necessary . She “loved Danny” and wanted him back. She also loved, no doubt, the ratings spike the controversy had given The View.
But hey, Danny, how about apologizing for to the American people for being such a boor? The joint you so enjoyed wrecking just happens to be our White House.
— Myrna Blyth, long-time editor of Ladies Home Journal and founding editor of More, is author of Spin Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness — and Liberalism — to the Women of America. Blyth is also an NRO contributor.