Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from The View after causing major controversy with her comments about the Holocaust.
During a discussion on The View about a local school board in Tennessee voting to remove the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman from the curriculum, the hosts made reference to the Pulitzer-winning book’s focus on the horrors of the Holocaust, including the killing of children, Nazi gas chambers and forced labour.
“This is white people doing it to white people, so y’all going to fight amongst yourselves,” Goldberg said at one point.
Later during the discussion, she added: “The Holocaust isn’t about race. … It’s not about race. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man.
When co-host Ana Navarro said the genocide was “about white supremacy … and going after Jews and gypsies and Roma,” Goldberg responded, “These are two White groups of people. … The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley.”
She added: “It’s how people treat each other. It’s a problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re Black or White — cause Black, White, Jews, Ita[lians], everybody, eats each other.”
The shocking comments immediately drew backlash from viewers, leading to the Sister Act star issuing an apology on Twitter.
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https://twitter.com/WhoopiGoldberg/status/1488320164517101574
“On today’s show, I said the Holocaust ‘is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man.’ I should have said it is about both,” Goldberg tweeted. “As Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League shared, ‘The Holocaust was about the Nazi’s systematic annihilation of the Jewish people — who they deemed to be an inferior race.’ I stand corrected.”
“The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waiver,” Goldberg continued. “I’m sorry for the hurt I have caused.”
The head of ABC News issued a statement today, condemning the host’s “wrong and hurtful comments” and announcing she would be suspended from the show for two weeks.
“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” president of ABC News Kim Godwin said.
“While Whoopi has apologised, I’ve asked her to take time and reflect and learn about the impact of her comments,” Godwin said. “The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”
