Jenny McCarthy Really Regrets This Joke

Well, you can't say she's not going out with a bang. A month after it was revealed that Jenny McCarthy, alongside Sherri Shepherd, was leaving The View after this season, the controversial host is making headlines for a joke she made last week. While discussing a book about the Clinton family, McCarthy implied that Hillary Clinton could be a lesbian, and suggested that the former First Family has some sort of "arrangement." At the time, the joke was laughed off, but on Friday, McCarthy seemed to realize her mistake and issued an apology.

"Something happened last week that made me wake up and consider how I should be more mindful of my jokes," wrote the host in a blog post titled "Anti-Gossip Girl." "It’s one thing to say something 'funny,' but then to turn around and be a hypocrite is another thing."

Earlier in the post, McCarthy blamed The View for bringing out the worst side of herself, saying that the show has caused her to "move out of my comfort zone and point the finger toward other people," something she says that she's never been comfortable with.

"I don't feel good about gossiping," McCarthy wrote. "But when I started at The View, I knew I had a job that required some of it."

So, to cope, she "turned to jokes," but, as she learned last week, not all of them are on equal ground. Shortly after the Clinton joke, McCarthy began talking about the topic of women helping other women, a subject that, later on, made the host realize that she'd been doing the exact opposite.

Not supporting another woman, McCarthy said, especially one who very well could be "our possible first female president," was something she feels deeply ashamed about, and is now set on rectifying.

"I am a work in progress," she concluded. "I hope you will be patient with me as I continue to figure myself out and grow to be the example of female empowerment I always intend to be."

As apologies go, it's a decent one; after the initial passing of the blame, McCarthy took responsibility for her behavior and owned up to her error. She recognized her faults, acknowledged how far she has to go, and made clear her intent to improve. Still, stirring up trouble for insulting Hillary Clinton is certainly not the way I imagine McCarthy wanted to leave The View. During the course of her time as co-host, she's had her ups and downs — emphasis on the downs — but likely figured that her upcoming exit would be a peaceful, drama-free event, not one riddled with yet another controversy.

Dtill, there's a chance both McCarthy's Clinton joke and apology will be old news by the time she actually steps down from the show, and that she will be able to leave The View on at least a neutral note, if not a particularly high one. Then again, this is the woman who recently made headlines for giving her son the sex talk and going back on her stance on vaccinations; if she manages to get through the next few months without putting her foot in her mouth at least once, it'll be a miracle.

Image: ABC