After stirring up controversy on Monday’s episode of The View by attempting to make a broader, yet incorrect statement about the Holocaust, Whoopi Goldberg apologized first thing Tuesday morning. Goldberg, who’s no stranger to calling out others for making harmful statements, pointed that trademark criticism at herself and readily admitted that she got this one wrong.
The controversy stemmed during a discussion about a Tennessee school district banning the graphic novel Maus and its harrowing depiction of the Holocaust. During the panel, Goldberg argued that the Holocaust “isn’t about race” and was about “man’s inhumanity to man.” However, to the shock of her co-hosts, Goldberg took things further and said the Holocaust was about “two White groups of people.”
Before hosting the Anti-Defamation League chief on Tuesday morning, Goldberg issued a statement at the beginning of the episode to express regret for the comments she made on Monday.
Whoopi apologizes to the Jewish community for saying yesterday that the Holocaust wasn't about race
If you watch #TheView daily as I do, you know that Whoopi has ALWAYS had the back of the Jewish people pic.twitter.com/h2hsUTErAg
— Live On The Chat (@LiveOnTheChat) February 1, 2022
Via Variety:
“I said something that I feel a responsibility for not leaving unexamined, because my words upset so many people, which was never my intention. And I understand why now and for that I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful and helped me understand some different things. And while discussing how a Tennessee school board unanimously voted to remove a graphic novel about the Holocaust, 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.”
Goldberg’s statement was actually her third apology following the Holocaust controversy. On Monday evening, Goldberg tweeted an apology message (below) and she also appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where she said she regrets her comments and “stands corrected.”
https://twitter.com/WhoopiGoldberg/status/1488320164517101574
(Via Variety)