The View Full Broadcast - July 21, 2026

[00:00:04]Voting block days after the president's speech pushing more false claims about the 2020 presidential election.

[00:00:11]>> Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen.

[00:00:16]>> Democratic senator and former CIA analyst Deise Slotkin warns that your midterm vote could be at risk. The president has been laying down a story line so that when or if he loses or his team loses the elections in November, he can call them invalid. Is he setting the stage for a November surprise?

[00:00:36]>> We have very important elections coming up. We want those elections to be honest.

[00:00:42]>> Hitting a Homer after fears that the big screen adaptation of Homer's epic The Odyssey was a Trojan horse for woke ideology. How a conservative critic is falling on his sword.

[00:00:55]>> I mean, the movie is a masterpiece, is it?

[00:00:57]>> Then, soccer superstar and two-time women's World Cup winner Megan Rapino is sharing her playbyplay of World Cup mania in America and how she's kicking it with artists, athletes, and activists on her new podcast, Why Are You Like This? And he's the legendary photographer who's captured unforgettable images of entertainment icons. Timothy White is revealing personal stories of a life behind the lens.

[00:01:24]Here come hot topics with Whoopi, Sarah Haynes, Joy Behar, Anna Navaro, Sunny Host, and Alyssa Farah Griffin.

[00:01:38]Now, let's get things started.

[00:01:46]I feel beautiful. I love I love I love this.

[00:01:58]I love the What is the name of that movie?

[00:02:12]Welcome to the view, y'all.

[00:02:16]What's the name of the What's the name of the movie where the guy keeps reliving the same day every I feel like I'm in Groundhog Day. I don't know why I feel like I I've come out here several times. I don't know why I think that.

[00:02:31]>> My goodness. Well, let Well, thank you.

[00:02:35]Let me tell you what's going on because you know whose speech last week where he dusted off the election fraud lies about the 2020 presidential election. You know, it kind of landed with a big old thud. It was mostly ignored and a lot of Republicans tried to distance themselves from it. But Democratic Senator Alyssa Slatkin says she's also a former CIA analyst. She's she warns that we need to pay attention. Take a look. The president has been laying down a storyline so that when or if he loses or his team loses the elections in November, he can call them invalid. He gave a big prime time address this week just to address that issue. Um he is I mean from beginning to end of this year has been doing everything in his power to try and make people feel like the elections aren't serious, they aren't valid. When he loses elections, he claims that they were rigged. Kind of like a kid.

[00:03:31]>> Not kind of like a kid.

[00:03:33]>> I mean, she The question is, do you think he's laying the groundwork to contest the election? Hell yeah.

[00:03:41]>> I mean, why else do it?

[00:03:42]>> That speech was not about 2020. That speech was about 2026.

[00:03:46]>> And he is petrified that the Democrats are going to take over. That's what all the polls are saying anyway. And here's why. We now have lost 17 service members in Iran and he has nothing, no plan. Um, the gas is up to $4 a gallon. Some diesel, I've noticed a couple of diesel like almost six.

[00:04:07]>> California gas is very high.

[00:04:09]>> And now we put a 50% tariff on Canada which is going to increase inflation and prices are going to go up. And there's the perfect metaphor for his administration, the diarrhea uh outbreak.

[00:04:21]>> The explosive diarrhea. Explosive diarrhea is just the perfect metaphor because everything is going up and making a mess.

[00:04:30]>> I've got a question.

[00:04:32]>> Thank you for that, Joy.

[00:04:34]>> You're welcome.

[00:04:36]>> The imagery pivot from the toilet talk. Um I'm not convinced and I this I want to actually run this by you, Alyssa, because you know President Trump. I'm not convinced he cares beyond himself. So, I this election law stuff, my concern is it's definitely uh eroding the trust the American public has. I know all the dangers and the potential problems there, but is it because he cares at all about a strategy or Republicans? Because Republicans don't like this. His Republican elected officials, that's what I mean, though. But I don't think he cares about the midterms. I think it's an ego thing. I think he needs to It's getting in his own way.

[00:05:14]>> I think first and foremost, it's about the fact that he cannot accept that he lost in 2020. I think that is much bigger than anything ahead for the midterms. In fact, I often think when he's not technically on the ballot, he doesn't care that much if Republicans win. But this is fascinating and you kind of made this point when we last talked about it. Why is it only the election that he lost that's rigged so we can trust all the other elections?

[00:05:36]2024 is good. But even more fascinating, it was the election his federal government was in charge of. We were in the White House. We were overseeing SISA, the cyber security agency that secures our elections. So it's not the flex that Donald Trump thinks it is to be like 2020 was stolen. It's like but you were in charge then you should have stopped it from being stolen.

[00:05:54]>> Yes, he was fine when President Obama was in charge and President Biden not him.

[00:05:58]>> But when it is him and I would remind people because it is really dangerous for us to lose faith in elections and he gives us a lot of reason to uh states administer elections. They're still done at the state level. Attorneys general and states governors are getting ready for any kind of you know things and shenanigans that might happen. We have to show up and we have to trust our elections and our local.

[00:06:18]>> You know, for the 10,000 years that I've been on this planet, this has never come up before. Has any does anyone remember?

[00:06:24]>> There's no real evidence of election fraud. It's like it's it's 0.00003% of election fraud. So, it just doesn't exist. It's a non-issue. And and you're right, it's it's not something that's ever come up before. But I I think Alyssa makes a good point and and that we should recognize that states run elections, not the federal government.

[00:06:42]Even though this federal government did is trying to meddle with our state elections, they have been asking for state voter roles all over this country, but I am happy to say that 15 federal judges have dismissed those cases, have rejected them, and so the federal government the judges the judges are doing the right thing.

[00:07:03]Um, but I I also think that this is a big distraction over his illegal war in Iran. I I really believe that the p the New York Times reported that there have been injuries that the Pentagon has not told the American people about that there have been um and and then after the New York Times reported it >> the next day, the Pentagon then releases that 427 US service people have been injured and 17 of them have died. Just re I think it was just uh last week, three US soldiers have been killed in action in Jordan and Iraq. It was Private Isabella Gonzalez.

[00:07:41]She's she was 19 years old. First Lieutenant Tyler James Fhan, 25 years old Fen. And then Sergeant Michael Emanuel Swinton, 30, of Fagville, North Carolina. All dead because of this illegal, unconscionable war that this president started without congressional approval.

[00:07:59]>> It's getting worse.

[00:08:00]>> And it's getting worse and worse and worse. Well, and by the way, when the president gave this address last Thursday, I thought that he was probably going to talk about the war that we're in. That would seem like the logical thing that he would make the case to the American public. This is why we're there. This is our goal. This is our end date. But it wasn't. Instead, we retread 20.

[00:08:18]>> He actually doesn't care to inform the American public because he's not clear on his own storyline on what they're doing.

[00:08:23]>> You know what? Look, I love that everybody wants to give him the benefit of the doubt. I really do. But you can no longer trust what he's telling you.

[00:08:34]>> You just can't. So this is why it's important to remember what Alyssa said.

[00:08:41]You don't have to be concerned that our elections are rigged. They are not. Fair elections happen and have been happening in this country for years. No one can tell you you're not allowed to vote.

[00:08:55]Okay? If you have been voting and it is your right to vote, go and do it. Go and do it. Don't let anybody say, "Well, you know, these were mandered or gerrymandered, whatever." None of that has anything to do with you. You have a right to vote. One person, one vote.

[00:09:13]It's your right. We'll be right back.

[00:09:30]Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back. Apparently, conservative critics are losing their minds over the cast of the Christopher Nolan epic, The Odyssey.

[00:09:40]They were doing that even before it came out. But now that it's number one at the box office, some of them are still trashing the movie. But others, like radio host and podcaster Ben Shapiro, are giving credit where credit is due.

[00:09:54]Watch. As a director, Nolan is unparalleled. He's the best director working today. Without a doubt, he just creates iconic movie after iconic movie.

[00:10:02]I know a lot of people were like, "Oh my god, Lepita Niongo is supposed to look like Diane Krueger." I don't know. Diane Krueger doesn't look very Greek. She's German. So, Lepita Niongo is a beautiful woman. There are a lot of conservatives who were getting pre whipped up about the film because it is stupid to cast Elliot Page as a dude. It's just stupid.

[00:10:18]But people on the right were saying, "Oh, the movie's going to bomb because of that." No, the movie's not going to bomb because of that. It turns out that when people want to be entertained, they're willing to entertain even bad flaws in the tooth. If it turns out that the smile is nice, >> listen, a lot of conservatives who see this are going to feel the same way. That's okay.

[00:10:39]>> But I don't understand. If you feel like why why go see the movie?

[00:10:46]>> If you don't want to see it, then don't go see it. Why do you care who's cast in it? I don't I don't I don't understand this idea that if we hate it, everybody must hate it because we hate it for this reason. You don't like Elliot Page, don't go see the damn movie. Don't don't do it. We will be okay if you don't go see it.

[00:11:03]>> But also, Twitter is not real life. So, there was this huge >> Say that again. Say that. Twitter is not real life.

[00:11:09]>> Only 20% of the country on is even on Twitter. And out of the 20% on Twitter, 80 of the Twitter trolls, 80% are the most active. So, it's just a big >> I swear watching this, you would think this is one of the worst films ever made. News flash, it is a masterpiece.

[00:11:24]This is a phenomenal film. It's blown records out. It's made tons of money, 264 million worldwide. But I would also argue this, there's a really good um culture writer I like, one Carlos Soapo at National Review, and he argues it's actually there's a real conservative message. It's about devotion to family.

[00:11:40]It's about faith. It's about upholding institutions. It's about how war is dangerous and has represent for all of us. And the fact that conservatives can't take the win and just be like, "Oh, no. This is a really excellent film with a good message for like families."

[00:11:54]I I'll never understand.

[00:11:55]>> Stuck on woke.

[00:11:56]>> But there's nothing wrong with this film.

[00:11:58]>> There's a a unique ignorance to someone who comments on something they've never seen. You're taught from a young age, do your research, learn, and then you can join the conversation. But it's like not voting and then complaining about what you get. You cannot not see the film and complain about how awful it is when you haven't seen the film because this film and I echo Alyssa is a masterpiece. And the best part is the more intimidating thing when I went to see it was one I hated the Odyssey mainly because it was so hard to read >> and that eventually loses it. I'm like never mind I'll read John Gisham. But um so there's that part and also anytime they put so many stars in one cast I sometimes wonder if I'll be able to get sucked in minutes in every one of those actors you think you know disappears >> and it becomes the Odyssey. It's brilliant.

[00:12:45]>> Yeah. I mean I just I don't understand it. You know I I don't get why you have to poop on everything you don't get. I'll tell you that I'm going to keep saying this to you people until you understand it.

[00:12:59]90% of America has never been asleep.

[00:13:03]Okay? They have been working to feed their families. They have been trying to get an education. They've been trying to borrow money from a bank. They've been trying to do all the things that people try to do every day. You are the only ones who have been asleep cuz you seem to have woken up and be in shock that women don't want to hear that they're not entitled to their feelings. That women don't want to be told what to do.

[00:13:26]that black people now not taking that anymore. Those are days are done. Gay folks are saying, "What are you talking about? We've been fighting this. Where have you been?" Y'all need to stay up and y'all need to watch what happens when the world writes itself and people start doing their lives again. When they're getting respect from a a a government that they've put in place to make sure that everybody gets a fair shot. This is what we want. We don't care what you think about the movies.

[00:13:57]They're not real. They're not movies are not real. We are real. So, please get it together. We'll be right back.

[00:14:15]Over Daily is back with our latest fabulous finds and we partner with vendors for at least half off. So, go get shopping now at the deal.com.

[00:14:27]Welcome back.

[00:14:30]This goes to the depth of our hearts.

[00:14:33]This story, an 82year-old widowed grandmother was upset when she found out she could not have a drink at her Minnesota assisted living facility cuz they didn't have a liquor license.

[00:14:48]But all that changed with the state legislation passing the grandparents happy hour bill >> which allows these facilities to serve booze for special events without a license.

[00:15:02]>> They haven't they earned the damn right to enjoy a happy hour like everybody else.

[00:15:06]>> Yes, they have.

[00:15:07]>> Not all heroes wear cape.

[00:15:09]>> That's right. That's right.

[00:15:10]>> I don't understand what the problem is.

[00:15:12]They're afraid they're going to fall down. They already do. No.

[00:15:16]WELL, YOU KNOW, IF ALL YOU have to do is roll it up, you don't have to worry about falling down. There's all kinds of ways for happy hour. But I mean, is this a little silly? Are they What are people worried about? Really?

[00:15:27]>> So crazy. She actually took her battle to change the law to the state legislature and she had to testify twice before finally winning the right to party.

[00:15:35]>> She's like the normal girl. The woman is the norm of assisted living.

[00:15:41]>> And they keen SHE DID A HEADSTAND.

[00:15:44]>> Can you imagine though? you you you you need, you know, to live in an assisted living facility and you're and you're with your friends and you want to have a little glass of bell gloss, red wine, pino noir, and then and you can't have it.

[00:15:55]>> Those your faves, >> she rattled them off in that order.

[00:15:59]>> Which by the way, they do say that one of the biggest keys to longevity is socializing. And I do think that like alcohol can like overindulging is not good, but like having a little alcohol, having a drink with your friends in the nursing home is good for you. It's going to keep you moving and spry and social.

[00:16:13]Keep your brain sharp.

[00:16:15]>> Just make sure you're not giving Nana the booze. Nana the booze.

[00:16:18]>> Give Nana the booze. But you know, >> watch out with everything else you're giving Nana. Okay.

[00:16:23]>> Yeah.

[00:16:24]>> Careful with your medications.

[00:16:25]>> That's a hard move. I remember when my grandma was moved to a home and it's lifealtering. Like a lot of times the kids have to make decisions based on someone who doesn't want to go there.

[00:16:34]The more joyful it can be and the more reflection of real life they can. When I play bingo, I'm going to need a drink.

[00:16:40]Like exactly know that now.

[00:16:44]>> Not just bingo.

[00:16:46]>> A lot of other things, >> you know, >> but that's neither here nor there.

[00:16:50]>> Congratulations, Grandma.

[00:16:52]>> Yes.

[00:16:53]>> Enjoy. We'll be right back.

[00:17:06]>> Yes. Welcome back. Megan Rapino has achieved plenty of personal goals as a gold medalinning Olympic champion, two-time women's World Cup winner, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.

[00:17:19]Now, she's taking to talking to some of the pop cultures biggest influential success stories on her new podcast, Why Are You Like This? Please welcome Megan Rapina.

[00:17:54]So nice to have you here.

[00:17:55]>> You said it exactly how it's supposed to be said. It's how usually I get it.

[00:18:00]>> I would have said rapo because you have an e at the end. Yeah, >> but if it was Italian, I'd say rapino.

[00:18:06]But what's with the e?

[00:18:07]>> Uh, well, I am Italian. I think when they came over, they were like, "That's too Italian."

[00:18:15]>> Round that out a little bit.

[00:18:16]>> So, we have to say rapino.

[00:18:18]>> Yeah. Rapino.

[00:18:21]>> So, so this is the first time. Wait, you were at the World Cup final game on Monday watching Spain beat Argentina.

[00:18:28]>> Yeah.

[00:18:31]So, um, you are a also a twotime World Cup champion. Good for you.

[00:18:36]>> Yeah. Thank you.

[00:18:37]>> Look at that.

[00:18:40]>> Yes.

[00:18:42]>> So, inquiring minds want to know how what does it feel like to play in stadiums with 80,000 people from all over the world?

[00:18:50]>> Whoa.

[00:18:51]>> It's exactly the kind of validation I need. You know, >> big No, it's incredible. Like, you can't It's very surreal. You can't really put it into words to walk out of the tunnel to see it all.

[00:19:02]>> It's like such a pomp and circumstance.

[00:19:05]It's such an entertainment.

[00:19:07]>> Yeah. I mean, it was great.

[00:19:08]>> I thrived, you guys. I like a lot.

[00:19:11]>> I wasn't shy.

[00:19:12]>> It's fun, though. It's It's very fun.

[00:19:14]>> You know, having done standup in front of three drunks from New Jersey, right, >> or whatever, from Wisconsin, wherever they're coming from, that's harder than that in a certain way. At least you know they're there for you.

[00:19:24]>> Yeah. But then you get them. I know you got the three junks and you're like doing this.

[00:19:28]>> Well, Megan, let's talk about the controversy that kind of came up uh during this when uh there president called the president of FIFA to review a red card that had been given to one of the US players.

[00:19:40]>> Um the red card was overturned sparking a lot of uh >> outrage, >> conversation, outrage. Yeah.

[00:19:46]Disagreement, all the things. Uh I felt like when I watched that game that they lost, they just came out of the gates scared and and and tentative. Do you think part of that was the noise of that conversation around that red card?

[00:20:00]>> Yeah, I think it kind of begs the question. You know, they had such a great vibe. Like, shout out to the boys.

[00:20:05]They played really well for the first four games. They had all of the energy and all the vibe and all the momentum and then that was like not the team that we had been watching. I feel like we I mean I've been embroiled in something uh not quite similar to that but having the president insert himself in a moment like that the team but we had like been in a million moments like that. We were used to that. We had either thrown ourselves in or just by nature of you know being a woman and being in sports and being gay like all of those things just were always around our team. And I wonder for them um they haven't spoken out about a lot. they don't have a lot of questions asked of them politically or culturally. Um, so it's a lot to deal with. You have three, four, five game, you know, days between the games and you go from being kind of like an underdog and now like the rest of the world hates you and Belgium has this huge spur of momentum because they're like, "Nah, well, we're not going to deal with that."

[00:21:02]>> Appropriate for Trump to insert himself into it?

[00:21:05]>> No, of course not. That was like let FIFA do whatever it's going to do. I mean, I'm not going to. It's like whether it should have been a red card or not or the suspension or not. Like they could have done that or you know done it more quiet. I don't know. But it's like no, nobody wants that cuz now it's a what if. Now it's like what if he never played or what if he played or what would the you know team been able to accomplish if not for that. And now we're asking this question which is unfortunate. You take all the spotlight off of the players on the field who have committed everything to being there in that moment.

[00:21:36]>> Being there. Well, let me ask you this because you've been at the forefront of the fight for equal pay in women's sports.

[00:21:42]>> And she has been. She has been.

[00:21:47]In 2019, you and your teammates filed a landmark class action lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation, eventually resulting in a $24 million settlement.

[00:21:56]>> Wow.

[00:21:57]>> Yes. A pledge to equalize pay. um and a historic 2022 um collective bargaining agreement that among other things requires an equal split of World Cup prize money between the men and women's team which I think is incredible. So what does that mean to you that you that you were you were the face of that the voice?

[00:22:16]>> Yeah, I mean it's a like I feel so proud of that. Um, I, you know, stand on the shoulders of so many Mia and Abby and, um, you know, Michelle Acres and so I think just so many women in general who have like fought for that. I think you guys can all attest to it. We've gone through different phases in all of our lives and to be able to >> accomplish something like that while accomplishing all that we did on the field. I'm going to have so many people come up to me that are like, you know, you're an inspiration to my son and my daughter or or I asked for raised because of you and the team and because of Alex and because of Carly and so many other players. And so to be able to use this thing, this talent that I was, you know, given born with really, obviously I worked hard, but to be able to use that and something I love to do to like actually make a difference in the world is kind of what it's all about.

[00:23:08]>> What's better than that?

[00:23:10]>> Yeah. What's better than that? Yeah.

[00:23:11]It's like it's great playing soccer. I loved playing soccer and um I loved the success, but ultimately there's something there's got to be something more and bigger and better than that.

[00:23:20]And I feel like yeah, the equal pay was a a huge legacy that now I can look at the way that you know sports is women's sports is being treated now whether it's WNBA or the PWHL or the NWSL, all of these leagues are like thriving and really kind of on this rocket ship. And I think a huge part of that had to do with the collective awakening that we're all having. Um, and a lot in part due to the equal pay.

[00:23:42]>> Yeah. And that people love watching women's sports. That's a huge part of it.

[00:23:46]>> Turns out it's crazy, but >> they love it.

[00:23:52]>> So, for years, you've been an outspoken advocate for so many people, including the trans community, and there's been a lot of debate about trans women in sports, and you recently wrote an article basically saying that anti-trans legislation is not actually about protecting girls, um, but distracting from us from what really matters. Tell us what you mean by that.

[00:24:10]>> It's a beautiful article.

[00:24:12]>> Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. Um, I think what I mean by that is let's just like pull back a little. At first it was like, well, nobody likes women's sports and nobody wants to watch it or there was, you know, abuse happening and nobody seemed to care. Now all of a sudden we're going to use a vulnerable group of people in the trans community to be like, "Oh, well, we're just protecting women sports and we care so much about it." When the Heritage Foundation is now going to go after Title N. So, is it about reproductive rights or is it about just women's rights in general? Um, we're seeing the roll back of Rowey Wade. Marriage equality I feel like is getting put back on the table. That was settled law. And so, all of these things like, yes, they're going after trans people in sports and they're using this as a wedge issue because we love sports and you know, we don't want our little girls to be unsafe in sports and it's like unsafe from who? But, okay. Um, but now we're using this as like an overarching thing when really what we're attacking women.

[00:25:05]We're saying if you look like this as a woman, you can play. If you look like this as a woman, there's a bill in Washington happening right now that's going to require all girls just like full stop to go through um a sex test, an invasive like examining their genitals to see if they're a woman.

[00:25:23]Yeah. And that has not worked out well historically for people to do that.

[00:25:26]>> We know what that means. Black girls are going to get questioned more and they're going to get questioned first. Who's doing the examination?

[00:25:32]>> Who wants to subject themselves to that?

[00:25:34]>> And so they're going to see a pullback.

[00:25:35]They don't like women in sports because it helps us with confidence and power and we see so many women in the seauite played elite level sports. It's just great for you physically and all of it, but it's an attack on women in society.

[00:25:47]And I think the >> the tie between the Heritage Foundation now wanting to go after Title N, it's just like so blatant. Like let's connect these dots. It's more than just a couple of trans kids in the entire country and a couple in each state being able to participate in some youth sports.

[00:26:03]>> Yeah. Well, after retiring from your professional soccer career, you've actually hosted several successful podcasts, but now you're debuting a new podcast, which we mentioned in August, called Why Are You Like This? So, tell us about this new series.

[00:26:17]>> Yeah, you said you said it perfect when I came out.

[00:26:20]>> I mean, yeah, you probably got this question a lot, too. Um, all of us. But I feel like I got this question either explicitly or implicitly um throughout my whole career of just like, why are you doing that? like why do you go left when everybody else goes right? And I I kind of loved that question. Um it sort of gave me an opportunity to explain my thought process and I think I'm now able to be on the other side of the microphone and being the interviewer and I want to talk to people about like why they think the way that they do. There's so many people that are changing culture or changing the world and and doing good and I think at times people feel overwhelmed and I'm like let's talk to people that are that are doing it.

[00:26:59]What's their blueprint? How can we learn from them and understand, you know, the little ways that we can all make the world a better place?

[00:27:06]>> You know what? Come back to this table anytime. Anytime. Anytime. Anytime.

[00:27:10]>> Ah, thanks to Megan Rapino.

[00:27:14]>> New Rapina. See, I knew you were going to do that to me.

[00:27:19]>> New episodes of her podcast, Why are you like This drop every Thursday starting August 6. You can watch it on YouTube.

[00:27:27]Listen wherever you get your podcast.

[00:27:35]Welcome back. Worldrenowned photographer Timothy White has spent four decades capturing defining images of pop culture icons like Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Artha Franklin, and occasionally he's taken some pictures of me, too. Uh, in his new memoir, Life Through My Lens, he shares private struggles, family secrets, and challenges of four decades in the spotlight. Please welcome my friend Timothy White.

[00:28:01]>> Yeah.

[00:28:06]>> So you got Yeah. So you and Whoopy have been friends for 40 years, I understand.

[00:28:13]>> Yeah. A long time.

[00:28:14]>> That's a long time. And she knows how remarkable your life and career have been. But in this book, you're letting readers see a side of you that many people haven't seen.

[00:28:22]>> Yeah.

[00:28:23]>> Um it's more personal than the usual. So why did you decide to tell everybody all this stuff?

[00:28:30]>> Um during co you know we were all alone um and thinking and I started to reflect on my life and start to look at all the the wonderfulness of my career but also the regular things in life that happen to us all. And I started to write things down and the more I wrote things down the more I I recognized that it was about relationships and it was about so many things that mattered to me. I mean, Whoopi and I have known each other for so long and our relationship, it's been so close and it's helped me. It's helped me learn. It's helped me grow. She's been such a supportive person in so many areas of my life. Julian Lennon, who did the forward for my book, is one of my lifelong friends and creatively, how we've helped each other, but put myself out there. You know, I'm always behind the lens and so I've turned the lens on myself a little bit and hopefully others can learn from it the way I've learned from it. William, you discovered your passion for photography based on kind of the album covers of the 60s and 70s. So, we're surrounded by your amazing work here. Can you get the give us the backstory on some of these famous shots?

[00:29:36]>> Robin Williams. Oh, >> I mean, Whoopi is was good friends with Robin. Um, >> Robin was this amazing mind, you know, that just worked so fast. Amazing. So, I did the advertising campaign for uh the bird cage.

[00:29:50]>> Yeah. and I had him and Nathan Lane and we had all these props and all these things going on and I brought out a pillow and and ripped it open and have him do a pillow fight and there were feathers everywhere and the photographs were amazing with these feathers.

[00:30:02]>> Um but Robin at the end you know with all of his brilliant comedic talent just grabbed one feather at the end and put it in his mouth >> and that was sort of the negative space right the the quiet sometimes of comedy timing you know so >> which he was brilliant at.

[00:30:17]>> What about Bon Joie? Oh, you know, I've known uh Bonjovi, John Bonjovi and the band um for a long time. I'm from New Jersey. In fact, uh I was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Wolfie inducted me, which was fabulous. But so I got to do the New Jersey album cover, which was kind of a big deal.

[00:30:34]>> Um and yeah, we've been friends all these years and I've done so many pictures. In fact, I'm seeing John tonight at Madison Square Garden.

[00:30:40]>> Oh, wonderful.

[00:30:40]>> What about Jay-Z?

[00:30:42]>> Jay-Z was really a special thing. Um I I was He was 18 years old.

[00:30:47]He was 18 years old. He hadn't have an album out yet.

[00:30:50]>> Wow.

[00:30:50]>> And um he showed up at a shoot for another jazz um rap artist that I was shooting named Jazz O.

[00:30:57]>> And um and he showed up and he was like wearing this outfit with all this bling.

[00:31:01]And I was like, I've got to photograph you, too. And then many years later, I I because he wasn't in my database. And I I recognized that I think I shot him >> and then pulled this out. And then I hung this in the gallery on like a Friday. And on Sunday, I got a phone call and they said, "Jay-Z just came in and bought your picture." And then it became this whole thing. It's sort of part of his legacy as as well as my own.

[00:31:22]So >> what about Billy Bob Thornton?

[00:31:24]>> Yeah. Billy's Billy's a good friend.

[00:31:27]>> Um Bad, >> right? Yeah. So I did the advertising campaign for Bad Center one and then they called me for Bad Center 2 and we were shooting all day and while we were waiting around on set, I found this bathroom, you know, on the on the side and I said when he came out I was like, "Billy, I got this idea." And he said, "Sure." and laid on this disgusting bathroom floor.

[00:31:47]>> Incredible.

[00:31:48]>> We've also got Miley Cyrus.

[00:31:50]>> Miley and I became friends. She came into my gallery one day and bought one of the photographs of her godmother, Dolly Parton, and we got to be friendly and started doing different things together and I started working with a famous recording studio in Los Angeles called Sunset Sound. And they had recorded Janice Joplain's um album Pearl there. And the studio hadn't changed at all. It still had all the texture, everything was the same. They even had the microphone that she recorded, Mercedes-Benz. And so I just started started thinking about Miley and that song and I suggested to her that we we go in the studio and do the a capella of Mercedes-Benz, which she did, and I filmed it and photographed it. And this was one of the old uh reverb rooms in the studio.

[00:32:30]>> Wow. Incredible.

[00:32:31]>> She's a special person.

[00:32:32]>> Well, as Whoopi mentioned, you guys have been friends for nearly 40 years. Um, and you have shot her some of the most iconic images. I I love this taxi cab one. What is it about when you guys come together that just creates magic with the two of you? He's silly. That's I can we we are both very silly.

[00:32:48]>> We're silly, but I don't know. It just It's grown over the years and there's just so much love. I mean, sometimes that could be a challenge, you know, to try and do something great each time out.

[00:32:56]>> Oh my goodness.

[00:32:58]>> Why?

[00:32:59]>> Yeah. I don't have such a headache.

[00:33:02]>> I don't know if you've revealed that tattoo really to anybody else or >> No, other people have forgot. That's the cover of one of my books. That's hilarious.

[00:33:11]>> Yeah.

[00:33:11]>> Yeah. So, >> this is St. Whoopy.

[00:33:13]>> No. No. No. That's Mona Lisa.

[00:33:15]>> We did we did a Poise commercial. He shot this Poise commercial where I played all of these women. That's the smile. It's cuz she's wet.

[00:33:24]>> Um the um the one that Statue of Liberty.

[00:33:28]>> The Statue of Liberty. She's wet.

[00:33:30]>> And and Jonav Whoopy is amazing. We set up all these sets and had all this energy going. We filmed it. We did still photographs and she just let it rip, you know, the way she can.

[00:33:42]>> Yeah. Nobody does better uh photographs of me than >> What about the black and white one?

[00:33:48]>> The one that you showed that so >> that's a really special image. It was it was from our like one of our first photo shoots. And as we were doing the session, Whoopi said, "Shoot me from behind."

[00:34:01]>> And I was like, "No actress would ever ask to be photographed from behind.

[00:34:05]What? What?" And then as soon as she did it, it was really clear to me that >> that it was definitively Whoopi and it was a really beautiful portrait and it was a really amazing >> um experience for me to to recognize that kind of creativity that she shared with me and she's continued to share that with me um all these years.

[00:34:24]>> And you know you have gold in that moment. Do you just feel it?

[00:34:27]>> Um I have no idea what I'm doing until it's there and then I >> and then you know.

[00:34:31]>> Did you take a photo selfie of this girl? Wait, you guys stay here. Oh, okay.

[00:34:36]>> I'm going to come here.

[00:34:38]>> Right here. Great.

[00:34:41]>> And now we've all been photographed by Timothy White.

[00:34:44]>> Thank you for for doing this and coming on. I you you all are going to want to scan the QR code to buy yourself a copy of Tim's new book, Life Through My Lens.

[00:34:55]And members of the studio audience, you're all going home with a copy of this. And we of course will be right back.

[00:35:12]Well, Alyssa is on our Behind the Table podcast today.

[00:35:17]We want you all to have a great day, everyone. Take a little time to enjoy the view. And, you know, don't don't let this get you down. We're in it together.

[00:35:24]We'll get through it together. And we'll see you tomorrow.