‘The View’: Whoopi Goldberg Revealed Who Convinced Her to Stay on the Show

EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg previously considered leaving her seat at The View. With contract negotiations coming up in 2016, the Sister Act star was looking to move on to new projects.

Deciding to stay in the moderator’s chair, Goldberg had a change of heart due to the historical presidential election and the advice from this special person in her life.

Whoopi Goldberg hints at her exit

Goldberg was somewhat open about her desire to move on from the daytime talk show. Telling Wendy Williams in a 2016 interview of her need to be challenged, the Ghost star revealed she was most likely going to give up her seat at The View table.

“No, probably not,” Goldberg responded when Williams asked if she’d renew her contract, according to Vulture. “I have to do it, baby, because I have to go and grow. I got stuff to do, I got movies I need to direct, I got books I got to finish.”

While she wanted to pursue other projects, Goldberg didn’t speak ill of her time on the show.

“This was great and I love doing it, but it’s been awhile and they’re in their 20th season, they did this without me,” Goldberg explained. “I’ve been here for half of it, but not all of it.” 

‘The View’ star decides to stay

Sharing that the 2016 presidential election had a part in her decision to stay, Goldberg revealed that she was convinced to keep her moderator’s title after a conversation with her daughter, Alex Martin.

“My daughter said, ‘Go when it’s over, but not now,'” Goldberg told Vulture in October 2020. “I was like, ‘But come on, what more can I do? There’s nothing more I can do.’ And she was like, ‘Ma, you can’t go now.’”

Goldberg ended up signing her contract for more time on The View, though she admitted it was with mixed feelings.

“So I had to go back to them and say, ‘Okay, I’m interested in coming back,’” Goldberg recalled. “I really was like, Ah, f*ck!“

Whoopi Goldberg still seeks new challenges

Though she’s under contract to stay on The View for two more years, Goldberg still takes on other projects that satisfy her creative aspirations.

“The View has always allowed me to go do other stuff if I was interested, like The Stand, so I was lucky,” she said, referencing her role in the upcoming TV miniseries. “They’ve been really good to me. So I feel all right staying with them. I feel like I’ve been there a long time.”

Apparently, the Oscar winner is currently getting some interesting offers for new endeavors after going through somewhat of a cooling off period.

“Actually, what’s happened is people are saying, ‘Hey, you want to come do this?’” Goldberg shared. “Because for a while there, people weren’t asking me. People are starting to ask. Fame is cyclical. You’re hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, then you cool off. And then you cool off and then get hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot again and then you cool off. I’ve been in a cooling period, and maybe this is a warmer period. It’s not burning up, but it’s warmer.”