Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin have clashed on The View over everything from politics to pop culture. On Friday, however, the co-hosts found themselves at odds over artificial intelligence.
Behar, 83, the longest-serving co-host in the daytime show’s history, challenged Hostin, 57, over her decision to license her likeness to an AI studio. The comedian argued that the move could ultimately cost “real people” their jobs.
The conversation got testy when Hostin tried to explain why she licensed her name and likeness to AI startup Fountain 0, according to footage released by ABC on Instagram.
“I recently partnered with a company called Fountain 0. They had a movie released at the Tribeca Film Festival. It’s the first time that was done,” Hostin said.
The ABC legal analyst was referring to Dream of Violets, directed by Ash Koosha. The film contains no human performers, with AI models taking the place of actors, sets and cameras.
Hostin said her collaboration with the company also stemmed from her own struggle to bring her written work to the screen. “One of the other reasons why I partnered with this company is because I’ve written a trilogy and for six years I’ve tried to get my stories made into a series or films,” she continued.
Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin have sparred over political and cultural topics on The View before, but this time their beef was over artificial intelligence
Hostin is the author of several New York Times bestsellers, including Summer on the Bluffs, Summer on Sag Harbor and Summer on Highland Beach.
“The gatekeeping in Hollywood around black and brown creative content is insane. I cannot get New York Times bestselling books onto the screen to tell diverse stories to diverse communities,” Hostin said.
Behar then pressed her co-host, asking: “So what does that have to do with AI?”
“AI cuts out the gatekeeping. You get to make your film. You get to have a director,” Hostin replied, before Alyssa Farah Griffin cut in to ask: “Are there actors in it?”
Hostin answered that ‘no, they’re generated,’ and that she may also appear in AI-form in the finished product given that she’s licensed her image to the company.
‘So you’re a robot now?’ Behar wanted to know.
Hostin stuck to her side of the argument and answered: ‘I may appear but in all seriousness it’s a way to go to a streamer and say here’s the product, will you license it, will you show it? It’s a way, I think, to get black and brown stories told. There are a lot of hidden figures out there. Those stories are not being told.’
‘Those people are in fact robots. How does that help the black community? Because the real people are not working,’ Behar shot back.
Behar took issue with Hostin on Friday for licensing her image to an AI studio, telling the lawyer and author that she was helping to put ‘real people’ out of jobs
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Hostin defended her AI deal, saying: ‘It’s a way, I think, to get black and brown stories told. There are a lot of hidden figures out there. Those stories are not being told’
Despite their disagreements on air, Behar and Hostin have been close friends for years. Above, seen on a previous segment of The View
‘The stories are being told, Joy, because the real people in Hollywood are not working,’ Hostin reasoned.
‘The train has left the station, it’s something that’s here and it’s not going away. There are going to be enormous benefits but of course there’s going to be —’
‘Are there ethical issues in signing that?’ Behar broke in.
‘I thought about that a lot,’ Hostin admitted.
‘But she needs the project,’ Behar said with a finger pointed at Hostin.
‘I don’t need the project. I think diverse stories need to be told,’ Hostin countered.
But Behar would not drop the bone of contention. ‘I get that. We’ve said that already,’ she said. ‘I’m saying those same people you’re now worried about are now out of work, the writers, the directors, the actors…’
‘But I’m not the person putting them out of work because the studios just won’t make these projects,’ Hostin said.
Hostin signed her AI deal on August 27 and said in a statement: ‘To be able to bring my novels to life in movie and TV form, and actually have my image inserted in the productions, so that audiences can relate to me through my stories beyond my role as an author, is incredibly exciting to me.’ Above, Hostin on July 8 at Disney’s Moana New York screening
Hostin, who has two children, Gabriel and Paloma, with her husband, orthopedic surgeon Emmanuel Hostin, signed her AI licensing deal on August 27.
‘To be able to bring my novels to life in movie and TV form, and actually have my image inserted in the productions, so that audiences can relate to me through my stories beyond my role as an author, is incredibly exciting to me,’ Hostin said in a statement at the time, per Variety.
‘This entire generational innovation in filmmaking from Fountain 0 gives me confidence that AI can give me a way to both more fully develop, and more fully immerse myself in, [intellectual property] I have developed.’
Hostin launched her own Roots & Wings Productions in May 2021 and has yet to release anything, though she has several projects in development.