Bowen Yang nearly derailed his recent appearance on The View when he sent the ladies into shock by calling United States Vice President J.D. Vance a “pope killer” on the air.

The Saturday Night Live star was enjoying an innocent conversation about his approach to impersonating Vance on the show when he made the shocking joke.

The View host Sarah Haines had asked if it was true that Yang initially didn’t want to play Vance on SNL, but the comedian chalked it up to “imposter syndrome.”

“I just thought there would be better people for it… It was my imposter syndrome. I was like, ‘There are better people for this,'” Yang recounted on The View. “But, listen, I worked with an accent coach. I had to get it between Ohio and Appalachia with the accent, it’s hard. It’s very subtle.”

Yang barely missed a beat as he added, “I mean he’s… Look, the guy’s a pope killer.” He is referencing the recent death of Pope Francis, who passed away Monday (April 21) at the age of 88 just hours after meeting Vance.

The joke sent the co-hosts into a frenzy as they tried to contain their laughter at Yang’s joke. But The View audience howled with laughter as the interview hit a dramatic pause as everyone struggled to compose themselves.

“Somebody had to say it,” Whoopi Goldberg pointed out amid the laughter, which Yang quickly repeated in agreement.

Joy Behar also tried to come to Yang’s defense. “He doesn’t mean it literally, he’s talking spiritually!” she said.

Behar recently shaded the late Pope Francis after Goldberg shared an experience she once had with him when he reportedly invited “100 comedians from around the world in to meet with him.”

Behar, who is a stand-up comedian, seemed to take offense at that. “I don’t remember that. I wasn’t invited,” she muttered on the show.

But she later praised Pope Francis for his “humility.”

“One of the things that stands out just pictorially is a picture of somebody like Musk or Trump who are cutting back on helping children around the world, cutting back on services for sick children, etc,” she said. “And then you see the Pope washing the feet of the poor. The contrast is astounding, really.”

The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.