'Sexy Mr. Rogers' costume drops for Halloween 2019 and 'The View' reacts
Halloween is right around the corner and a new costume out this year has been stirring up controversy.
The Mr. Rogers-themed costume from Yandy, called "Nicest Neighbor Costume," doesn't look like the friendly neighbor Fred Rogers who many of us love and remember. The costume comes with a cropped version of Rogers' signature red V-neck sweater, a collar and necktie, shorts and optional accessories, such as puppets and a wig.
"The View" co-hosts Joy Behar, Abby Huntsman, Sunny Hostin, Meghan McCain, and guest co-host Ana Navarro weighed in on the costume's sexy spin on the childhood favorite on Friday.
"It's awful," Huntsman said of the costume. "I really don't find this funny. This made me so angry."
"Mr. Rogers is the most kind, wholesome, wonderful person that we had teaching children," she continued. "Who wants that in their bedroom?"
"A lot of guys. All I can say is, 'Won't you be my neighbor?'" Behar responded, referring to Rogers' signature line from his TV show.
Huntsman continued speaking Rogers' praise, urging others to watch the "Won't You Be My Neighbor" documentary about Rogers' impact on youth and the media that's now playing on HBO.
"I feel like today there is a lot of negative around us, and so the other night, my husband and I spent an hour watching it and I felt so uplifted," Huntsman said. "I was reminded of just the person that he was. He didn't listen to other people giving him advice on changing himself. He was who he was and his mission in life was teaching kids and making them feel good about themselves."
Hostin called Halloween a "landmine" when it comes to shopping for costumes with her 13-year old daughter, Paloma.
"I go with Paloma to try to find something [and] everything has 'sexy' before the costume. Sexy cat, sexy nurse, sexy army person, sexy cop... All these professions are sexy?" Hostin said.
Hostin also pointed out a Yandy's sexy "Handmaid's Tale" costume from 2018, which it called "Brave Red Maiden Costume." The costume was pulled from the company's website after it faced swift criticism.
"How is that sexy? It's a dystopian society," Hostin said.
In a September 2018 statement published on Twitter, Yandy said in part: "Over the last few hours, it has become obvious that our 'Yandy Brave Red Maiden Costume' is being seen as a symbol of women's oppression, rather than an expression of women's empowerment. This is unfortunate, as it was not our intention on any level. Our initial inspiration to create the piece was through witnessing its use in recent months as a powerful protest image. Given the sincere, heartfelt response, supported by numerous personal stories we've received, we are removing the costume from our site."
Navarro brought up a mom whose video went viral last week for meeting her daughter at a bus stop while dressed up as a unicorn.
"Cover me up from head to toe, please!" She said of the giant, pink costume.
"When you're a single girl and you're out on Halloween, it's an excuse to dress provocative" McCain said. "I myself wanted to dress like 'Babe-raham' Lincoln one year with my Gettysburg address and a tight black dress, and I was talked out of it because I was told it was distasteful."
"[Halloween is] an excuse to dress provocative," McCain said. "I think it's fine if you're a single girl and you want to look hot on Halloween."
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