Skip to main content

Whoopi Goldberg will be taking a little time off The View after her controversial comments about the Holocaust. The moderator on ABC’s talk show said that the Holocaust was not about race and was met with backlash on social media. Although the EGOT legend apologized for her claim, the network decided to suspend her from the show to reflect on what she said.

Whoopi Goldberg sitting at the table on the set of 'The View'
Whoopi Goldberg | ABC/Jenny Anderson

Why was Whoopi Goldberg suspended?

A day after Goldberg made the Holocaust comments, The View talked about why the show’s moderator was wrong in her views. However, Kim Goodwin, President of ABC News, released a statement late on Feb. 1 announcing that she was suspending Goldberg for two weeks.

“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments. 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,” read the statement posted on Twitter.

Goldberg’s comment came after the panel was discussing the ban of the graphic novel “Maus,” about cartoonist Art Spiegelman’s father’s experience during the Holocaust.

“Let’s be truthful about it because [the] Holocaust isn’t about race,” Goldberg said on the show that aired Monday, Jan. 31. “It’s not about race. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man.”

Whoopi Goldberg apologizes for Holocaust comment

Goldberg’s comment on The View drew criticism throughout the day and the actor released a statement on Twitter clarifying what she said on the show.

“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,” read the statement posted on Twitter. “As Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League shared, ‘The Holocaust was about the Nazi’s systemic annihilation of the Jewish people — who they deemed to be an inferior race.’ I stand corrected.”

Goldberg’s statement continued, “The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waiver. I’m sorry for the hurt I have caused.”

Related

‘The View’ Returns to Studio Without an Audience After COVID-19 Surge: ‘It’s a Little Freaky’

‘The View’ addresses Whoopi Goldberg’s comment

Following Goldberg’s apology, The View opened their Feb. 1 episode addressing the controversy with the show’s moderator.

“Yesterday on our show, I misspoke, I tweeted about it last night but I want you to hear it from me directly,” Goldberg said. “I said something that I feel a responsibility for not leaving unexamined, because my words upset so many people, which was never my intention. I understand why now, and for that I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful, and it helped me understand some different things.”

Goldberg continued saying, “I said the Holocaust wasn’t about race and was instead about man’s inhumanity to man. But it is indeed about race because Hitler and the Nazis considered 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 y’all know, because I’ve always done that.”

The View airs weekday mornings at 11 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. PT/CT on ABC.

Best in Entertainment