'The View' Suspends Whoopi Goldberg Over Holocaust Comments
by EG
Whoopi Goldberg is feeling the consequences of her comments on the Monday episode of The View, in which she said that the Holocaust was "not about race." The comments caused an uproar, leading the show's producers to suspend Goldberg for two weeks, following an appearance on Tuesday in whic she expressed regret that she said what she did. Read on for details.
Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended by ABC’s The View.
The daytime panel show co-host will be off the program for two weeks after making controversial comments Monday about the Jewish people and the Holocaust in response to a local school board banning the graphic novel Maus.
ABC News president Kim Godwin announced the decision in a note to staff Tuesday night.
“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” Godwin said. “While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”
“These decisions are never easy, but necessary,” she addd in her memo. “Just last week I noted that the culture at ABC News is one that is driven, kind, inclusive, respectful, and transparent. Whoopi’s comments do not align with those values.”
Goldberg apologized on the program earlier on Tuesday, in a segment that also included an interview with Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.
“Yesterday on the show I misspoke,” Goldberg said to open the talk show. “[The Holocaust] is indeed about race, because Hitler and the Nazis considered the Jews to be an inferior race. Now, words matter, and mine are no exception. I regret my comments and I stand corrected. I also stand with the Jewish people.”
The controversy erupted on Monday’s show, when Goldberg said during a segment about Maus: “Let’s be truthful about it because Holocaust isn’t about race. It’s not about race. It’s not about race. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man.”
Co-host Ana Navarro responded to Goldberg, saying: “But it’s about white supremacists going after Jews.“
“But these are two white groups of people!” Goldberg replied. “The minute you turn it into race it goes down this alley. Let’s talk about it for what it is. It’s how people treat each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white, Jews, it’s each other.”
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.