These shows gave viewers plenty to talk about this year.
On the air almost every weekday, talk show hosts and guests have to be outrageous to be considered ridiculous — and these 15 moments are proof.
With plenty of airtime to fill, audiences get to know the personalities and their families — for better or worse. The camera often leads to hosts oversharing, and those watching at home eat it right up and share it widely on social media.
One of the worst perpetrators in 2023 was Mark Consuelos, who joined his wife, Kelly Ripa, as the co-host of ABC’s “Live” this year. Nothing was off-limits, including Ripa telling the world that her longtime love isn’t lacking in the package department.
The writers strike might have left viewers without 148 days — nearly five months — of content, but the likes of Drew Barrymore, Whoopi Goldberg and Andy Cohen were able to provide enough humor in the meantime.
Jenna Bush Hager called her husband ‘daddy’
Jenna Bush Hager left “Today” viewers — and herself — cringing after accidentally calling her husband, Henry, “daddy” on air. While telling co-host Hoda Kotb about a family outing to see “Trolls Band Together,” she said her 4-year-old son, Hal, “wants to be baby Diamond and have Daddy be — first of all, I just called my husband ‘daddy’ on television.” After Kotb tried to make her feel better, Bush Hager responded, “I just called my husband, ‘Daddy.’ Is there like a corner I can go sit in for a few minutes?”
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Drew Barrymore awkwardly caressed Oprah Winfrey
In her three years on daytime TV, Drew Barrymore has earned a reputation for getting up close and personal with her guests — and Oprah Winfrey couldn’t escape her clutches. In an interview promoting “The Color Purple,” Barrymore tightly held onto Winfrey’s hand while running her other hand up and down the media mogul’s arm. While social media was flooded with people slamming the gesture, Winfrey doubled down and joked with TMZ that she wished longtime partner Stedman Graham would take a cue from Barrymore.
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Hoda Kotb had a hot make-out session at a furniture store
Inspired by Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck getting caught “canoodling” in a furniture store, Hoda Kotb told Jenna Bush Hager on “Today” of her own escapade. “I think I should confess that one time, when I was in New York here, living here, working here, and I was dating someone here, that we were in a furniture store and we had a full-on make-out,” Kotb told her co-host. “It was so edgy because I’m like, ‘I could lose my whole job, and it’s happening right now,’ but I was kinda excited, you know that feeling?”
Drew Barrymore dressed up as the character M3GAN
To celebrate Allison Williams coming on her show, Drew Barrymore cosplayed as M3GAN, the star of the artificial intelligence horror flick. In full costume and makeup, and mimicking a child’s voice, the host pretended she was the doll while Williams tried to stay in character, eventually saying, “I’m just continuing to adjust in real time to this being the way this is happening.” Viewers weren’t sure what was more frightening: a 48-year-old woman dressed up as a toy or the movie itself.
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Whoopi Goldberg gave Sunny Hostin a lap dance on ‘The View’
Even after Sunny Hostin named Whoopi Goldberg as the “fartiest” member of the “View” panel, the gassy gal gave Hostin a lap dance when she confessed she never received one. Goldberg narrated the routine while shimmying and making physical contact with Hostin, ending with, “And then it’s me going down like, ‘Oh, yeah!’ And then I go back on the side!”
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Sherri Shepherd encouraged Elizabeth Vargas to drink
In her talk show’s first season, “Sherri” host Sherri Shepherd made a major faux paus: encouraging a recovering alcoholic to “get drunk” with her. Shepherd sat down with former “20/20” anchor Elizabeth Vargas — who’s been sober since 2014 — and said, “I’m going to take you to the bar, we’re going to drink. We’re going to have a drink.” Vargas awkwardly responded, “[I’ll] have my classic club soda with cranberry juice, but you can pound some shots.”
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Diddy reacted to Jennifer Lopez and Jada Pinkett Smith threesome rumors
After the infamous Chris Rock Oscars slap in 2022, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith maintained their relevance in 2023 in many ways — including with her bombshell memoir. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel took advantage of the controversy and asked Sean “Diddy” Combs about a decades-old rumor that Combs wanted to fight Smith after the actor allegedly propositioned Jennifer Lopez to have a threesome with him and Pinkett Smith. Combs responded, “Yo, this show has gotten crazier since the last time I was here. No … I don’t know what you’re talking about,” before adding: “Jimmy, I thought we was friends. Where did this interview just go?”
Jana Fonda gifted Drew Barrymore a vibrator
During an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” Jane Fonda took the opportunity to tout the use of sex toys. The host asked the actress, 85, “I heard, Jane, you relax with, like, baths and meditations. Is it true that there also might be an adult toy involved?”
“There is,” Fonda confirmed. “There’s my bed, there’s my dresser, and in the top dresser drawer, you would freak out if you saw what’s in there.” She didn’t leave the stage until she gifted Barrymore her own vibrator, which the host held up to her ear like a phone.
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Anderson Cooper spit out his drink over a Gayle King sex question
Andy Cohen inviting his bestie, Anderson Cooper, on “Watch What Happens Live” is one thing, but when Gayle King enters the chat, she has questions about their closeness. Cohen asked Cooper about his preferences in the bedroom, including “bringing a third into the bedroom,” which Cooper claimed he wouldn’t do. The host retorted “Oh, really?” — leading King to ask, “Andy, can I ask why you know that Anderson is open to threesomes in the bedroom?” Cohen coyly replied: “Just because … mother’s intuition.”
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Whoopi Goldberg farted on live TV during “The View”
After 16 years co-hosting “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg appeared to accidentally pass some gas. Co-host Sunny Hostin seemingly addressed the moment a month later on Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live.” When Cohen wondered who “passes gas the most,” Hostin promptly exclaimed, “Whoopi!”
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Jerry O’Connell defended wife Rebecca Romijn against John Stamos
In a year full of celebrity memoirs, John Stamos’ “If You Would Have Told Me” made waves in Hollywood, in part because of his claims about his ex-wife of seven years, Rebecca Romijn. Her current husband, Jerry O’Connell, used his co-hosting gig on “The Talk” to address Stamos’ negative portrayal. Instead of stoking the flames, he had a message for the press, saying, “It would be easy for me to say, ‘Screw you, how dare you ask me that?’ but really it would be bringing attention to a situation that I don’t want to feed into.”
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Michael Rapaport spilled tea on Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s wedding
Twenty-three years after attending Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s wedding, Michael Rapaport divulged some details to Andy Cohen on “Watch What Happens Live.” Her co-star on “Friends” and his in “True Romance,” the actor detailed the caviar wall — which he’s still eating apparently. Cohen responded to the revelation: “How have you been on this show 87 times, and I’ve never talked to you about Aniston and Pitt’s wedding?”
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Jameela Jamil shocked Al Roker with a booty call misadventure
Counting 17 years on “Today,” Al Roker has heard his share of surprising stories, but after actress Jameela Jamil detailed a booty call gone wrong on the “Today” show, the weatherman was left in a speech drought. “I had a man take several steps into my apartment on what was supposed to be my first-ever booty call. He collapsed three steps in,” she continued. “He broke all of his front teeth. They flew across my apartment. He split his chin open and collapsed, and it was because he had misused a drug that excites a man’s sausage.”
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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos couldn’t stop talking about their sex life
Ever since Mark Consuelos took up the morning show helm next to wife Kelly Ripa, viewers learned more than they ever needed to know about the couple’s sex life. Ripa encouraged her husband of 27 years to pose nude and Consuelos couldn’t seem to keep his hands off Ripa. It’s become such a theme that John Stamos called the co-hosts out on their bawdy behavior. “I’m tired of hearing you both have sex everywhere!” he exclaimed.
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Jon Hamm and Jon Slattery played out Scandoval
In reality TV, it was the year of Scandoval. Bravo’s own Andy Cohen used James Kennedy and Tom Sandoval’s “Vanderpump Rules” reunion fight as material for Jon Hamm and his “Mad Men” co-star Jon Slattery on “Watch What Happens Live.” The duo re-enacted the exchange so well that Kennedy praised the performance on social media. A true compliment for Hamm, who told “Today” that he’s a “Vanderpumper.”
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