Generally speaking, I couldn’t care less about The View. The only woman on there I have a genuine affection for is Whoopi Goldberg, and the part I like about her is that she really, really doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks of her. That being said, I do enjoy reading about what goes on behind the scenes on The View, and this new interview is riveting. The ladies sat down for a cover interview with Ladies Home Journal (story via OK! Magazine) and the results were hilarious. Should I be ashamed for chuckling at several different parts of the interview? I don’t care. These women are cracking me up. From Barbara Walters trying to convince the world that big, burly Los Angels police officers are fans of The View, to Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s snotty attitude about people pitying her, this one’s a classic:

The ladies of The View are quite a collection of characters, and it’s no secret that Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck don’t always get along. The co-hosts are all sharing one thing however — the October cover of Ladies Home Journal. Inside they dish on their chemistry, their disagreements and their success.

On the secret of their success:
Barbara: “The chemistry is the most important thing. We have been imitated again and again – by men, by other programs – and the thought is there should be one older person, one comedian, one black person, and one younger person, and that will make it work. And it doesn’t. Our roles on the show have changed and I think we’re better than ever because of this group.”

On disagreeing on set:
Whoopi: “There are times when you think, I shouldn’t have said that, and I’m sorry. But nobody cares if you say something tough – it’s over and done with. They’re like, No, no, no I know what you meant. The next day you’re back on cue. Or five minutes later, after the commercial, you’re back to being the two of you.”
Elizabeth: “We know what triggers the other person, but we also believe what we believe. It’s all up for discussion, and we know we’re all coming back tomorrow. So we love each other even though we don’t always agree.”
Joy: “We are a reality show of the real kind. You watch the Jon & Kate Plus 8 shows, but they’ve been faking things for two years. We have a real show, we are real people and the audience relates to that.”

About the fighting rumors:
Whoopi: “The idea was put into people’s minds before I arrived – that was played up with [former co-host] Rosie [O’Donnell], and it stuck. I think for a while things got more personal than they should have and people glommed onto that. I think people want there to be feuds. But I am too lazy to fight – it takes too much energy to keep it going.”
Elizabeth: “I typically get two comments. One is, ‘I feel so bad for you.’ Or: ‘That has to be difficult to do every day.’ Neither is true, and I don’t enjoy pity. Anyway, the show isn’t as interesting when we agree.”

On memorable guests:
Sherri: “I love the gorgeous men who come through and that I get to put my hand on their thighs. The guys love it. Robert Downey Jr. put my head in his lap. And they kiss you. What kind of job do I have? Every man I love turns around and gives me a kiss. When [Barack] Obama showed up, I was like, this is it, I am done. And Jonathan Rhys Meyers? I am like a predator cougar on that boy. I will hurt you.”

On their male fans:
Barbara: “I don’t think of us as a woman’s show. I was at the Michael Jackson memorial, and these male cops kept saying, ‘I watch your show every day!”
Elizabeth: “My husband, Tim [Hasselbeck, former NFL quarterback] has played for two or three teams since I’ve been on the show, and every team he’s been on, they all watch the show while they’re icing their legs. They sit and watch and try to get what women are about.”

On Barbara’s little-known expertise:
Sherri: “Barbara gives the best single-women advice…about raising my son and relationships. She also gives good advice about sex.”

[From OK! Magazine]

I now love Sherri a little bit for saying Robert Downey Jr. and Jonathan Rhys Meyers were her favorite boys. I just went and watched Jonathan’s last interview on The View (he’s been on several times, so he must love those ladies too), and they’re all drooling over him. And now I am going to try to work “I am like a predator cougar on that boy. I will hurt you” into my everyday conversation this week. One part that OK! didn’t excerpt was where Sherry claims that John McCain’s appearance on the show was not a happy one. Sherri says, “John McCain was not happy with us. I don’t know if he and his wife thought we were just going to bake cookies or something, but we asked some pretty tough questions.” I can’t believe that excerpt got cut out while OK! made us hear about Barbara’s sex advice!

Here are the ladies of “The View” at the New York Times Arts & Leisure Weekend in January. Images thanks to WENN.com .