The View weighs in on Mel Owens's dating-age remarks as The Golden Bachelor premieres Season 2

The View addressed Mel Owens's remarks about dating women under 60 on Thursday, as The Golden Bachelor premiered its second season on ABC. Host Whoopi Goldberg teased that the audience and panel “took him to task over the list of requirements he laid out months ago on a podcast” after a clip from the Season 2 premiere aired, and the Hot Topics table debated whether Owens had redeemed himself in the wake of his remarks.

Alyssa Farah Griffin said, "He did redeem himself. I was a Mel hater after the interview. I just didn’t love— I felt like that’s so classic, that a man saying, 'Oh, I want women 40-60.' He wants someone 15 years younger, not even open to someone your own age. But I think he took responsibility." She added that while women may understand age, "men have no idea." Sara Haines admitted, "That’s probably how his mom looked." "I mean, no shade to his mom!" Haines quickly clarified. "I meant the generation…Nevermind." As the audience laughed, Goldberg quipped, "Just leave it alone." Griffin countered that Haines was "actually making a good point." She also offered broader context on aging, noting, "I think we’re aging very differently," and adding, "50 is the new 40, 40 is the new 30, 30 is the new 20. If I put actresses of different ages in front of my husband, he’d have no idea. He’d be off by a decade thinking they’re younger than him. And men just don’t realize we’re all living longer and look better than they have."

Joy Behar weighed in with a lighter take, saying, "But the point is if I were his age, I would want some guy 45 also. Why not?" Her remark drew applause from the table, and Haines acknowledged that she hadn’t even been angry at Owens when he spoke the line, calling it naive rather than malicious. "By that I mean not knowing how people age, but also when I met my husband, I didn’t want anyone my age. I wanted ’em all older. And he was five years younger. So I think sometimes life will bring what it wants your way, and you just have to have open eyes and open heart to accept it. So I’m sure he’ll find someone."

The discussion later touched on Terri, a contestant nicknamed the "Muppet woman" for pulling out a puppet during her introduction to Owens. Sunny Hostin noted that fitness is very important to Owens in finding a partner, though she emphasized that there are many fit 66-year-olds. "He is one of them. I know plenty of them," Hostin said. "So I think I’ll give him a pass for making the comments, but he really learned last night that man, people over 65 are pretty damn good." Goldberg, however, called the moment "very, very crazy" that people are still making such comments and saying them aloud. "You find it where you find it," she added, urging that a person should seek someone who fits with them rather than fixating on age: "Why not just say, 'I want to find somebody who fits with me and who I fit with,' as opposed to 'they have to be [a certain age].'"

The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC. The Golden Bachelor premiere is streaming on Hulu.