“The View” star Joy Behar jokes about Barbara Walters' signature open-mouth smile 'from her porn days'

Joy Behar shocked The View audience with a hilarious joke about the deep origins of the late Barbara Walters' signature open-mouth smile.

As Geri Halliwell stopped by the talk show Tuesday to promote her new children's book — and reflect on a piece of advice Walters gave her nearly two decades ago — Behar elicited a gasp from the studio crowd when she added some, uh, flair to the Spice Girls superstar's fond memory.

"Barbara, she's an amazing lady. She taught me one thing, she said [she] had a camera smile that she uses, and I always still use this piece of advice," Halliwell said, recalling a prior interview she did with Walters. "She said when you're in front of a camera, you notice how you feel a bit stiff, and she always goes, 'Ahh.' You look into the camera and go, 'Ahh.' You get the right kind of smile. That's the Barbara smile. It stayed with me."

ABC; Jim Spellman/WireImage Joy Behar on 'The View'; Barbara Walters.

Halliwell stressed that it's only the right smile if the mouth hangs "slightly open," and Behar agreed.

"She did it every time she took a photograph. It has to have the mouth open," the 80-year-old joked. "Well, those are from her porn days."

Cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin exclaimed, "Oh my God" as the audience laughed.

"They know it's a joke," Behar said, throwing up her hands and chuckling alongside them. Sara Haines — also giggling — then suggested the group "move on" to another topic.

Walters died in December at age 93, 25 years after she and longtime producer Bill Geddie (who died in July) launched The View in 1997. Behar was one of the original cohosts on the program, but sat out seasons 17 and 18 after being let go, though she ultimately joined the table once again ahead of season 19.

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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