“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” actor Anson Mount said his wife thought his unexpected on-air kiss with Joy Behar was “funny.”
Mr. Mount, 53, appeared on “The View” on Wednesday, and when he came out backstage to greet the host, he hugged Mr. Behar, 83, and she kissed him on the cheek. However, Behar then pulled him in for a long kiss on the lips and put her lipstick on his mouth.
Mount, who is married to photographer and author Dara Tran, later joked in an interview with TV Insider, “I asked my wife to promise not to divorce me. She thought it was funny.”
“I think people just assumed I was gone because I have two young children. I think they were probably surprised to see me still alive,” he added.
The “Crossroads” star said the last time he met Behar on “The View” was 13 years ago.
“I brought her flowers for her birthday, and I guess they made an impression on me,” he said. “Well, let’s see what she does next time.”
Mount married Tran in 2018 and they have two daughters, Clover, 4, and Violet, 1.
After Ms. Behar kissed him on Wednesday, her “The View” co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Haines and Sunny Hostin appeared shocked, with Ms. Behar quipping, “I’m old, but I’m not dead.”
Goldberg then asked her, “Are you okay?”
Mount pointed out that she was married when Behar said, “Last time I was here, you brought me flowers for my birthday, and it’s never been the same between us.”
The father of two replied, “Well, I’m married.”
And when she retorted, “I know, that’s what you mean,” he laughed.
Some viewers criticized the moment, with one commenter on the ABC talk show’s TikTok post about the kiss: “Yeah, I don’t know about this 😳 He’s doing great but I think she crossed the line.”
Another commented, “Isn’t this sexual harassment?”
Page Six reached out to Behar’s representatives for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
