'The View' Reacts to Justin Bieber Flipping the Bird (VIDEO)

The ladies of 'The View' (weekdays, syndicated) react to a photo of Justin Bieber in which the singer flipped the bird to paparazzi while out on the town with girlfriend Selena Gomez.

Bieber was captured extending his middle finger to photogs as he celebrated his 17th birthday. And Whoopi Goldberg seemed to think perhaps the rude gesture was justified.

"Maybe they just really pissed him off," she said.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck's sympathies also seem to lie with Bieber. "They probably said something to his girlfriend. He was trying to help her out. [But] I think instead of measuring him by that, we should also take into consideration that he did apologize," she said, referring to a tweet of Bieber's where he admitted he "reacted in anger."

Watch the full episode here: