The ladies of The View silenced Elisabeth Hasselbeck long enough this morning to take a moment to recognize something very special to their national audience: the June 18 opening of the Red Hook Ikea! And to celebrate New York City’s very first do-it-yourself Swedish furniture multiplex (and the possibility that we might never have to take a shuttle to Elizabeth again), The View gave all audience members $200 Ikea gift cards. Yay! Or not. Though the crowd dutifully cheered, the real reaction was tepid at best. Just a hunch, but we’re guessing most folks who want to go watch a taping of The View aren’t from New York or cramped urban places where they might be resigned to buy Ektorps and Malms. (And if they are from around here, they’re hitting Raymour & Flanigan.) As Racked astutely notes, “$200 at Ikea is more a responsibility than a gift” — which is probably why Whoopi felt compelled to remind them of the home-assembly hell that awaits them all. Seriously, Oprah would never pull that shit. —Jessica Coen
Red Hook Ikea [Racked]
