Veteran Hollywood actor-turned day-time television host, Whoopi Goldberg has caused waves after publicly declaring that the Holocaust was “not about race,” and that “Nazis and Jews were both white.”
On Monday’s episode of ‘The View’, Goldberg and her co-hosts were discussing the controversial banning of Art Spiegelman’s classic graphic novel Maus, from the Tennessee school board after it claimed its swear words, nudity and depictions of suicide were inappropriate for 13-year-olds.
“I’m surprised that’s what made you uncomfortable, the fact that there was some nudity,” Goldberg, 66, responded to her co-hosts. “I mean, it’s about the Holocaust, the killing of six million people, but that didn’t bother you?”
“If you’re going to do this, then let’s be truthful about it. Because the Holocaust isn’t about race. No, it’s not about race.”
Goldberg’s co-host Joy Behar, responded by saying that the Nazis said the Jews were a different race.
“But it’s not about race,” Goldberg retaliated. “It’s not. It’s about man’s inhumanity to other men.”
“But it’s about white supremacy,” co-host Ana Navarro added. “It’s about going after Jews and Gypsies and Roma.”
Goldberg reiterated, “But these are two white groups of people. You’re missing the point! The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley. Let’s talk about it for what it is. It’s how people treat each other. It’s a problem.”
Goldberg faced immediate backlash from the public, with social media spiralling into a craze as “#firewhoopi” began trending.
Later that day, Goldberg posted an apology on Twitter:
“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. 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,” Goldberg said.
“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,” she added.
Appearing on ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’, Goldberg conceded that her comments “upset a lot of people, which was never ever, ever my intention.”
“I feel, being black, when we talk about race, it’s a very different thing for me,” she said.
“I thought it was a salient discussion, because as a black person, I think of race as being something that I can see. So I see you and I know what race you are and the discussion about how I felt about it… I felt it was really more about man’s inhumanity to man. How horrible people can be to people.”
“I’m very upset that people are misunderstanding what I was saying.”
The New York Post has since reported that several employees at the show want Goldberg fired.
“ABC staffers and Disney Network execs are saying Whoopi went way too far,” the Post reported.
“Board members are not happy with her apology and want a fuller retraction. The word is that Whoopi is in ‘deep s–t,” one employee told The Post.
“Why does Whoopi seemingly get a pass when others don’t? Perhaps this time she won’t. Many at the network – including her fellow hosts – believe Whoopi is too controversial now for the show.”
The source told the Post’s gossip column Page Six that the controversy “isn’t just going to blow over.”
“This will cast a shadow over everything for a while,” the source said. “Even Joy Behar was heard saying backstage that Whoopi is ‘dead wrong’ and may not ever recover from this.”
“Joy found this particularly troubling and couldn’t believe Whoopi wouldn’t stand corrected until she was forced.”
On Tuesday, Goldberg returned to ‘The View’ with an apology.
“I tweeted about it last night but I kind of want you to hear it from me directly. I feel a responsibility,” she said. “My words upset so many people which was never my intention. I understand why. The information I got was really helpful.”
“I said the Holocaust wasn’t about race and was instead about man’s inhumanity to man. It is indeed about race because Hitler and the Nazis considered Jews to be the inferior race,” she continued. “Words matter and mine are no exception. I regret my comments and I stand corrected.”