Long before I was a dad, when I was a young and dumb twentysomething, I ran into a friend of my sister’s who’d given birth a few months earlier. Upon seeing her, I gasped, “Wow! Pregnant again already?!” She, I’m still horrified to say, was NOT pregnant.

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Folks, if you don’t know, this is when it is OK to ask someone if they’re pregnant:

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Someone who absolutely should know better is The View host (and IRL mom) Whoopi Goldberg. Thursday, the ladies of The View were live on the air talking about Mitt Romney (stay with me) when Whoopi eyed cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin and — gasp! — asked out of nowhere, “Are you pregnant?”

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Here’s how Farah Griffin responded. You can literally see the soul escaping from her body as she said “NOOO!”

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She then gasped, “OH MY GOD!” as the audience let out howls of uncomfortable laughter.

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As Farah Griffin tried to recover from the shock/embarrassment, Joy Behar asked Whoopi, “Why would you say that?”

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Sunny Hostin, meanwhile, was left looking like this:

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Farah Griffin then tried to make light of the situation by saying, “You can’t say that when my mother-in-law is here! She’s been dying for me to get pregnant.”

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And then she added, with a little edge in her voice, “Why? Do I LOOK pregnant?”

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Now there is a correct answer here…one that could have defused the situation…but this isn’t it:

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She followed that up with “I just got a vibe.”

Here’s how Farah Griffin reacted:

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As the audience murmured, Sara Haines jumped in — trying to clean up the situation — and asked Whoopi, “Did you get a glow?”

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But before Whoopi could respond, Farah Griffin said, “Please say it’s not my tummy!”

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They were in hell. Literally every person in that studio was in hell.

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Thankfully, Whoopi finally apologized, saying, I’m so sorry,” and took Haines’ lifeline, adding, “You have this ― I see a glow.”

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Farah Griffin, probably feeling she now had to put her business out there, replied, “I’m very open to being pregnant soon. I am not blessed to be pregnant yet, but my husband and I are thinking about it.” And then they went back to talking about Mitt Romney!

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In all seriousness — if you don’t know — there are so many reasons why you should never ask someone if they’re pregnant, but here are a few: They could have already given birth and are struggling with their postpartum body, they could have miscarried and/or lost their child, or they could be struggling with infertility. Asking “Are you pregnant?” to anyone in those situations will likely be emotionally devastating.

So, everyone, please:

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Have you ever experienced an “OMG ARE YOU PREGNANT?” horror story? Or been the person doing the asking? Let us know in the comments below!

And if you want to see the scene in all of its awkward glory, here it is:

ABC / Via Twitter: @TheView