Jedediah Bila recently appeared on The View to discuss her new book, “Dear Hartley”. A former Fox News contributor and co-host on the daytime talk show in season 20, Bila returned to The View virtually due to her COVID-19 vaccine status. When the hot button topic came up during her interview, the conversation quickly went awry.
Jedediah Bila Gets interrupted by Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin
Bila was originally supposed to pinch hit at the “Hot Topics” table several weeks ago but the offer was rescinded since she has not received the Covid vaccine (ABC has a strict vaccination policy). Beginning her remote interview with a conversation on her second book, “Dear Hartley”, co-host Joy Behar soon brought up the “elephant in the room” and asked Bila why she isn’t vaccinated.
“I am not a candidate for this vaccine,” The View alum explained, pointing out that several doctors and an infectious disease specialist signed a medical exemption, and that her “sky-high, multi-tier, multi-faceted natural immunity” has been “substantiated by letters from these doctors.” “I am not anti-vax. But what I really want is for people to make these decisions for themselves.”
Bila, who contracted Covid last year before vaccines were made available, began going into more context of why she made that particular decision. She was cut off by Behar, who quipped, “Oh my goodness. No, that’s not so. C’mon, you’ve been at Fox TV too long.”
Once again, Bila tried to explain her stance that the vaccine “does not prevent you from getting COVID and transmitting COVID”, and is against mandates. She was soon interrupted by Sunny Hostin, whose in-laws died from COVID. Hostin called Bila’s statements “misinformation”.
“762,000 people have died of COVID, including [Hostin’s husband] Manny’s parents,” Hostin remarked. “I just don’t understand why you would prioritize your personal freedom over the health and safety of others. I don’t think we should allow this kind of misinformation on our website.”
Bila attempted to interject but was soon told by moderator Whoopi Goldberg that they needed to cut to a commercial break.
‘The View’ alum took to social media post-interview
Soon after she went on The View, Bila posted a CNN interview with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to verify the comments she made on the show.
In the clip, Walensky acknowledged on CNN in August the potential of “breakthrough infections” of COVID-19 for fully vaccinated people, telling Wolf Blitzer that, “yes, [fully vaccinated people] can” transmit COVID-19 to others. She went on to share that while vaccines “continue to work well for Delta, with regard to severe illness and death,” Walensky shared, “what they can’t do anymore is prevent transmission.”
Bila tweeted the interview along with a media statement from the CDC dated July 30. She also cited several sources on Instagram including Bloomberg and Science.org to provide further verification for her statements on The View.
“Facts matter,” Bila wrote on Twitter, along with the CNN interview. “The clip from the CDC director herself on transmission below, which I addressed on air.”
Jedediah Bila acknowledged the ’emotional place’ people come from on COVID
Following her appearance on The View, Bila spoke on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show and commented on the tumultuous interview.
“I just got off about an hour ago,” she said. “I did the segment remotely and it got heated to say the least… Their claim was that I was providing misinformation to the public, when in fact what I was really doing was citing the CDC’s own Web page that says this is a vaccine that does not prevent you from transmitting infection.”
Bila noted the emotions that come to the surface from all sides when discussing COVID and the current vaccine debates.
“People come out there from an emotional place, and I understand that,” she shared. “You know, we’ve seen a lot of hardship this past year. People lost loved ones, people themselves got sick. People lost businesses as a result of these lockdowns. …So many people have suffered in many different ways. What I was simply trying to say was that these mandates don’t make any sense. …people must be empowered to make these decisions for themselves. That should not be controversial in the land of the free.”
In “Dear Hartley”, Bila emphasizes the need for individuals to make decisions without fear amidst today’s divisive culture, and to stand on the freedom upon which the country was founded.
“My commitment is to individual decision-making, facts, and a respectful exchange of ideas with people who disagree,” she wrote to Showbiz Cheat Sheet in an email. “‘Dear Hartley’ champions free thinking.”
“Dear Hartley” is now on sale.
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