Stripping down in the kitchen isn’t exactly hygienic, but that didn’t stop Joy Behar from urging chef Michael Symon to take his shirt off on this morning’s episode of The View. Symon, who stopped by the daytime talk show to promote his new cookbook, was playfully heckled by the panel over his “very sexy” birthday post from last year.
Symon’s snap — which featured his shirtless, tattooed torso — was met with cheers and gasps by the audience and the Hot Topics table, with an especially impressed reaction from Behar, who asked, “What?!” after seeing the image.
“Joy, don’t look at me like that!” a bashful Symon told the co-host. She bluntly replied, “Let me see,” while gesturing at his upper body (which was fully clothed in a gray t-shirt).
“Is that real? Let me see,” she demanded, as Symon insisted, “Yes, it’s real!”
He added, “I am not taking my shirt off,” while Behar could be heard saying in the background, “Oh, come on.” But he doubled down, telling her, “I have my apron on.”
After all the chaos died down, Symon said his mother had been less impressed by the pic than The View panel. When she saw the photo, Symon said she asked him, “Why do you have to show everybody all those damn tattoos?”
Behar ribbed Symon once again later in the episode, chiding the chef for his dig about Italian people. During a discussion about the origins of pasta, Behar said Marco Polo “stole the whole idea” from China after visiting.
“The Italians, we’re good like that. We’re good at stealing things,” Symon replied. Behar, who is Italian herself, was incensed, replying, “How dare you?”
Symon protested, “Well, I’m half-Italian. I can make the joke!”
Their cheeky banter continued in Symon’s appearance when Behar recounted how the chef signed a cookbook and dedicated the signature to Behar’s grandson, where he wrote, “I make a better lasagna than your grandmother.”
At least we know it’s all in good fun. As Symon himself revealed, Behar has been personally invited to dinner at his house.
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.