Old ‘View' host Sherri Shepherd defends Katie Couric for editing interview to protect RBG: 'I can understand'

ABC’s "The View" addressed Katie Couric’s shocking admission that she selectively edited a 2016 interview with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by omitting negative comments the justice made about those who kneel during the national anthem – and not all of the panelists on the daytime gabfest focused on the issue of journalistic ethics.  

Guest co-host Sherri Shepherd defended Couric, while Sunny Hostin appeared extremely disappointed in the late Supreme Court Justice and scolded her for not "understanding of the intersectionality of women and Blackness." 

Couric’s 2016 chat with Ginsburg came in the midst of the furor of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to take a knee during the playing of the national anthem to protest police brutality. Several other professional athletes began to take his lead and kneel instead of standing during the anthem. Ginsburg told Couric she was opposed to the action, saying those who kneel during the anthem were showing "contempt for a government that has made it possible for their parents and grandparents to live a decent life," according to reporting by the Daily Mail.

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The former "Today" co-host said she was "conflicted" about including the justice's comment because she was a "big RBG fan" and admitted to seeking advice from some fellow journalists about what to do. Ultimately, the story she wrote for Yahoo! News did include quotes from Ginsburg saying kneelers were "dumb and disrespectful," but left out the above remarks. Couric wrote she wanted to "protect" Ginsburg, according to the Mail.

"RBG, we loved her, you know? We didn’t want her to leave the court. She’s regarded as such as liberal superhero," co-host Joy Behar said. "She actually took it out of her interview… she didn’t want RBG to look bad to her liberal fans."

Shepherd, a former "View" host who temporarily returned to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary, quickly defended Couric. 

"I can understand why Katie Couric would have withheld some stuff to protect her," Shepherd said, noting that Ginsburg’s representatives also allegedly wanted the comments removed from the interview. 

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Behar chimed in that Ginsberg didn’t misspeak, but Shepherd continued her point. 

"I think that Katie knew at the time that she interviewed her, it would have compromised her and I think she made a decision that a lot of people make, a lot of journalists make to take stuff out," Shepherd said. 

Hostin was "conflicted" about the situation because she is a longtime fan of Ginsberg.

"I was very disappointed when I heard about this," Hostin said of the Ginsburg comments that Couric edited. 

Hostin then read a 2016 remark by Ginsburg in which she backtracked on objecting to NFL players kneeling during the anthem. 

"She didn’t say that she didn’t feel that way, she just said that her comments were dismissive and harsh," Hostin said. "If we’re being honest about the justice, she never really was understanding of the intersectionality of women and Blackness. In her 13 years as a Federal judge, she didn’t hire one Black clerk… she only hired one Black Supreme Court clerk." 

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Ana Navarro urged viewers to read Couric’s entire book before making any judgments about excerpts. 

"Katie Couric is coming here in a few days," Navarro said. "One of the questions I have is, ‘If you protected her in life, if you took this out of the interview in life. Why now that she’s dead, and she’s an icon to so many, are you including this now that she can’t respond to it in any way?’"

Fox News’ Cortney O’Brien contributed to this report.