‘The View’ Goes After “Emasculated” Ben Shapiro for ‘Barbie’ Criticism: “Looks Like He Should Be in the Barbie Movie”

Everyone’s got Barbie fever these days — even the ladies of The View. The morning talk show kicked off today’s episode with a takedown of the right wing critics who are decrying Barbie‘s “woke-ness” and anti-patriarchy message.

Whoopi Goldberg tore right into the detractors, with a particularly cutting diss aimed at commentator Ben Shapiro, who posted a widely mocked video titled “Ben Shapiro DESTROYS The Barbie Movie For 43 Minutes” on Saturday, July 22.

(Editor’s Note: The View is currently on hiatus; despite what you may have heard, The View was not canceled today. This article was originally published on July 25, 2023, when this episode first aired. The View will return with new episodes in September 2023.)

Shapiro said at one point in his review, “I find it upsetting when material that’s based on children’s IP and marketed to little girls actually ends up being angry, feminist claptrap that alienates men from women, undermines basic human values and promotes falsehood all at the same time.”

After playing a clip of Shapiro’s words, Goldberg exclaimed, “It’s a movie! It’s a movie about a doll! I thought y’all would be happy. She has no genitalia, so there’s no sex involved. Ken has no genitalia! It’s a doll movie.”

Goldberg continued, “The kids know it’s colorful and it’s Barbie. They haven’t lived through what the adults have lived through. So when they’re seeing this movie, that’s not how they’re looking at it. The kids are looking at it as a Barbie movie.”

After suggesting conservative critics explain to their own children “what’s wrong with Barbie,” Goldberg proclaimed, “I love my Barbie,” while hoisting her leg up on The View table to display her fitting footwear.

The panel laughed and the audience cheered as they caught a glimpse of Goldberg’s shoes, which were clear plastic wedges stacked high with Barbie doll heads. They were no Gucci heels, but we can’t all be Joy Behar.

After Goldberg said her piece, Alyssa Farah Griffin weighed in, noting that the “right wing men who have all these thoughts on masculinity” are worried that Barbie will “make them feel emasculated.” She retorted, “No, caring so much about it is the most emasculating thing I can think about. ”

Sunny Hostin then took a shot at Shapiro, telling the panel, “I think the last guy’s voice emasculated him,” while Goldberg contributed her own diss: “He looks like he should be in the Barbie movie!”

After bashing Shapiro, the panel moved onto Matt Gaetz, with Behar sneaking in a dig at the disgraced congressman’s sex trafficking investigation.

“I read that Matt Gaetz complained about [Barbie] … but it’s rated PG-13. Seems like his crowd,” she quipped.

The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC. Watch the clip from this morning’s episode above.