The View is in hot water for its decision to dress a child in a questionable Halloween costume referencing Will Smith‘s slapping incident at the Oscars.
According to Decider, the talk show featured a Halloween costume segment introduced by the show’s wardrobe supervisor, Ashley Alderfer Kaufman.
The costumes were inspired by moments covered on The View's Hot Topics panel throughout the year, with children dressed in costumes that referenced inflation, the Mar-a-Lago raid, and of course, Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
The child referencing this topic wore a gold bodysuit and face paint to look like an Academy Award, but across their face was a red painted handprint. Kaufman described the costume by saying, “We do not want to endorse violence of any kind but we couldn’t help but talk about one of the hottest topics of the year.”
BOO ARE YOU WEARING!? See our wardrobe supervisor Ashley Alderfer-Kaufman clue us in on the best-dressed trick-or-treaters inspired by 2022’s best #HotTopics! https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/WJmVvrap9L
— The View (@TheView) October 31, 2022
Even though the costume was meant in jest, viewers didn't take kindly to it, voicing their disgust on Twitter.
One user wrote, “Not a fan of that Oscar slap costume.” Another wrote that they rolled their eyes at the costume, while several other commenters wrote how tired they were of the slap being referenced in the media yet again.
Not a fan of that Oscar slap costume. #TheView
— Dee (@ahoustonBelle) October 31, 2022
"I know they not about to talk about this Oscars slap again," wrote a viewer. Another added, "Bad taste on the Oscar slap. You did validate violence, Ashley."
Other commenters also addressed how the costume was validating violence, while others brought up their feelings on the costumes being too political and adult in general. One commenter wrote, “They are adding too many adult themes to these kids Halloween cosutmes.”
Another issue when it came to the costume was the use of the red handprint probably being in poor taste, since red handprints are used as a symbol of the fight to find missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
As a commenter who brought up this point wrote, “Too bad no one was able to flag this costume idea in advance.”
Overall, this segment was not universally loved by viewers, even if it was meant to be light and in fun.
