'The View' co-hosts apologize for remarks about nurses

The head of the American Nurses Association accepted an apology from "The View" co-host Joy Behar Wednesday, following remarks on Monday's show that appeared to poke fun at a Miss America contestant, a registered nurse who appeared in uniform.

"We are pleased that Behar apologized on the show this morning and think this is a great opportunity for those in the media to highlight the important, lifesaving role of nurses and to show them the respect they deserve," ANA president Pamela F. Cipriano said in a statement.

Co-host Michelle Collins explained that on Monday's show, "We were taking about the Miss American pageant and we were taking about the talent competition. And one of the girls, Miss Colorado [Kelley Johnson] got up and gave a monologue," at which some of the show's panelists poked fun.

Collins, 34, acknowledged "that people were very upset with what we said. I, for all of us, want to say we love nurses . . . We adore you. We respect you.""I was just not paying attention,"Behar, 72, admitted, "I was looking at a Miss America tape, and there's a woman wearing an outfit with a stethoscope and I'm thinking, 'Is she in the costume?' I didn't know she was a [real] nurse. So I'm used to seeing [contestants] in gowns and bathing suits. So . . . it's not like I was trying to be funny. It was just stupid and inattentive on my part."