Whoopi Goldberg Suspended From ‘The View’ over Holocaust Remarks

Whoopi Goldberg Suspended From ‘The View’ over Holocaust Remarks

Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from “The View” for two weeks after facing wide criticism for her remarks that the Holocaust was “not about race.”

 

Goldberg’s suspension was announced in a statement released by ABC News public relations on Tuesday night.

 

“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” reads a statement attributed to Kim Godwin, president at ABC News. “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.”

Whoopi Goldberg Suspended From ‘The View’ over Holocaust Remarks
Whoopi Goldberg Suspended From ‘The View’ over Holocaust Remarks

Goldberg’s comments on “The View” reached the highest level of decision makers at Disney, Variety can confirm. According to sources, Peter Rice, the chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content, was consulted on the public fallout for Goldberg.

 

Goldberg’s remarks emerged during a conversation on Monday’s broadcast of “The View,” in which the co-hosts discussed a Tennessee school board’s ban of “Maus,” a nonfiction graphic novel about cartoonist Art Spiegelman’s father’s experience surviving the Holocaust.



“Let’s be truthful about it because [the] Holocaust isn’t about race,” Goldberg said on Monday’s episode. “It’s not about race. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man.”

 

The remarks drew immediate, sweeping criticism from Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

 

“The Holocaust was about the Nazi’s systemic annihilation of the Jewish people — who they deemed to be an inferior race,” wrote Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. “They dehumanized them and used their racist propaganda to justify slaughtering 6 million Jews. Holocaust distortion is dangerous.”

 

Later Monday, Goldberg apologized for her remarks on social media. She then offered an on-air apology on Tuesday’s episode of “The View.” Greenblatt also appeared as a guest on the broadcast.

 

“So yesterday on our show, I misspoke,” Goldberg said at the top of the show. “I said that the Holocaust wasn’t about race and it was instead about man’s inhumanity to man. But it 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 as I said and I stand corrected. I also stand with the Jewish people, as they know, and as you all know because I’ve always done that.”

 

Co-Hosts Silent On-Air

Whoop Goldberg’s “The View” co-hosts Joy Behar, Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin remained silent on the Wednesday, Feb. 2, episode of the ABC daytime talk show regarding Goldberg’s two-week suspension. ABC News president Kim Godwin announced in the evening of Tuesday, Feb., 1 that Goldberg would be suspended from “The View” following Goldberg’s remarks that the Holocaust was “not about race.” Behar started the Wednesday morning episode of “The View” by reiterating that Goldberg would be off the show for two weeks, then the hosts moved on to the “Hot Topics” segment.



“You all saw the news,” Behar said. “Whoopi will be back here in two weeks.”

 

According to a report from The Daily Beast, a source close to “The View” says “most of [Goldberg’s] co-hosts are furious with the network” for suspending Goldberg after she made numerous apologies about her Holocaust remarks. Ana Navarro, a regular co-host on “The View” who was on the Jan. 31 episode when Goldberg made the comment, told The Daily Beast she’s sad about Goldberg’s suspension.

 

“I love Whoopi Goldberg. I love ‘The View,’” Navarro said. “This was an incredibly unfortunate incident. Whoopi is a lifelong ally to the Jewish community. She is not an antisemite. Period. I am sad. And I have nothing else to say.”

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