Background

Whoopi Goldberg is the stage name of Caryn Elaine Johnson, who was born November 13, 1955 in New York City. She dropped out of high school; was once homeless and addicted to heroin; has been married three times; and has several grandchildren. Goldberg’s mother, Emma (née Harris), was a nurse and a teacher; her father, Robert James Johnson Jr., was a clergyman.

Origin of Her Name

Over the years, Goldberg has given various reasons for why she chose Whoopi Goldberg as a stage name. Playbill reported in 1997 that Goldberg said: “The true story is that my family is Jewish, Buddhist, Baptist and Catholic — none of which I subscribe to, by the way, as I don’t believe in man-made religions… So I took the last name from a Jewish ancestor. And I happen to be gaseous, which explains the first name, short for whoopee cushion.”

A February 2022 op-ed by John Podhoretz in the New York Post stated that Goldberg had “co-opted” the surname for racial reasons: “Through the years, she’s offered many weird and contradictory explanations for her change in moniker, but it might have seemed at the time that a black person sporting the surname Goldberg would be especially eye-catching and noteworthy (especially in conjunction with that wild first name) because it would represent the proud ownership of her outsider status. She wasn’t trying to blend in. She was doubling down — on race.”

Career in Show Business

An online IMDb (Internet Movie Database) biographical sketch of Goldberg says: “Whoopi’s recent ancestors were from Georgia, Florida, and Virginia. She worked in a funeral parlor and as a bricklayer while taking small parts on Broadway. She moved to California and worked with improv groups, including Spontaneous Combustion, and developed her skills as a stand-up comedienne. Goldberg came to prominence doing an HBO special and a one-woman show as Moms Mabley. She has been known in her prosperous career as a unique and socially conscious talent with articulately liberal views. Among her boyfriends were Ted Danson and Frank Langella.”

Today, Whoopi Goldberg is a household name in America, thanks to her extensive movie and television work, in addition to her work as a comedian, producer, and author. She is one of a very few entertainers to have won the so-called EGOT, which means she has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.

Goldberg’s film acting credits include such notable productions as: The Color Purple (1985); Clara’s Heart (1988); Ghost (1990); Sister Act (1992); Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993); How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998); Girl, Interrupted (1999); Madea Goes to Jail (2009); and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). Her best-known fictional television role was as Guinan, an ancient alien known for her folksy wisdom on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Star Trek: Nemesis,” and “Star Trek: Picard.”

Since 2007, Goldberg has been best known for her role as a co-host of the daytime TV talk show, “The View,” where she frequently opines on all manner of social and political issues. She is an outspoken supporter of Democrat and leftwing causes and political candidates.

Defending Sexual Abusers

Defending Roman Polanski Against Sexual Abuse Allegations:

After movie director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in 2009, Goldberg took the opportunity to defend him over his previous sexual assault of an underage girl. Victim Samantha Geimer was 13 years old in 1977 when Polanski plied her with alcohol and pills, raping and sodomizing her in actor Jack Nicholson’s home, according to IndieWire. Polanski thereafter fled the United States, never to return. “I know it wasn’t rape-rape,” Goldberg said on “The View” in 2009. “It was something else, but I don’t believe it was rape-rape. He went to jail, and when they let him out he was like, ‘You know what, this guy’s going to give me a hundred years in jail. I’m not staying.’ So that’s why he left.”

Defending Bill Cosby Against Sexual Abuse Allegations:

When comedian Bill Cosby was accused of serial sexual assault allegedly accomplished by drugging his victims, Goldberg insisted that Cosby may have been innocent, even as overwhelming evidence of his guilt accumulated and the public turned against him. “None of you … telling me you’re coming after me because you don’t like what I said is going to change the fact that no one has convicted him,” Goldberg said in 2015. “He has not been arrested, and the bottom line is, that’s the law: innocent until proven guilty.”

Also in her defense of Cosby, Goldberg cited the 2014 University of Virginia rape hoax and the 2006 Duke lacrosse scandal (in which three members of the university’s lacrosse team were falsely accused of rape), to demonstrate why people should hold off on judging Cosby. “If you’re the mother of a son who gets accused,” said Goldberg, “you want to keep ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ Just ask the parents of the boys on the Duke lacrosse team. Remember that? We raked them across the coals, burned them at the stake, took away every opportunity they had out of school. They were done. And it turns out, it [the allegation] wasn’t true.”

In 2015 as well, Goldberg said she was not making excuses for rape: “No one here thinks rape is good. … No one here … hates women or any of that. So don’t come after me like that because I’m sick of this bull. Here’s the bottom line for me: It’s my opinion, and the American courts agree with me because he still has not been taken to trial or jailed on anything. So back off me!” “As more information [about Cosby] comes out,” added Goldberg, “people can make judgments. I don’t like snap judgments because I’ve had snap judgments made on me, so I’m very, very careful. In America, you’re still innocent until proven guilty. He has not been proven.”

NRA Member in 2012

On May 9, 2012, Goldberg said on “The View” that she was a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Her comments, which surprised many in her audience because the NRA has long been an object of contempt for the political Left, came during an interview with libertarian television journalist John Stossel, as NewsBusters reported:

“I don’t mind having to register and let them know that I have them,” Goldberg said, apparently referring to guns she owns. “I want to know that there’s at least some way to prevent folks who are just getting out from mental institutions [from getting guns].”

Stossel said, “You packing now?” Goldberg shot back, “You don’t want to find out,” to audience applause.

Goldberg Claims That Flag-Burning Is Not Proof of One’s Hatred for America

On the November 30, 2016 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg asserted that the burning of the American flag as a form of protest, was protected as free speech by the First Amendment. Arguing also that the act of burning a flag did not necessarily indicate one’s hatred for America, she said: “Let’s put this all in perspective … people get angry and they burn things. It doesn’t mean they hate the country. So let’s not put that in there.”

Characterizing America As a Racist Nation

On the September 6, 2016 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg was discussing San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the playing of the national anthem at his team’s preseason football games — to protest what he viewed as America’s ubiquitous racism and police mistreatment of nonwhite minorities. Invoking the Black Power raised-fist salute that U.S. medalists John Carlos and Tommie Smith had displayed during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Goldberg said: “Listen, people have been protesting, you know, be they athletes who won gold medals who stood on the podium and did this [raised fist salute], you know there have always been. The bitch is we’re still protesting the same thing. That’s the awful part. So people find the way they can do it.”

On the November 2, 2021 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg and her co-hosts – Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Michele Tafoya — had a spirited discussion about how race is taught in America. Breitbart.com provided the following transcript and account of that conversation:

Tafoya said, “Why are we even teaching that the color of the skin matters? Because to me, what matters is your character and your values.”

Goldberg said, “Yes, but you know — you live in the United States. You know that color of the skin has been mattering to people for years.”

Tafoya shot back, “Can’t we change it that it doesn’t?”

Goldberg said, “Well, we need white people to step up and do that.”

Tafoya said, “But I think they have been doing that since the Civil War. I’m not saying it’s perfect.”

Goldberg said, “No! No, no, no, they haven’t.”

Tafoya asked, “What do you mean, they haven’t?”

Goldberg said, “Listen, when you have a country, or let’s talk about a state — where somebody can be hung from a tree, and it’s OK?”

Tafoya said, “That is not OK.”

Goldberg said, “Well, it was OK. It was OK in the South. People did it all the time. People would run you down.”

Co-host Joy Behar said, “Not that long ago.”

Goldberg agreed, “Not that long ago.”

Co-host Sunny Hostin said, “There are still lynching going on today.”

Goldberg agreed, “They are lynching people.”

She added, “I love having this conversation because I feel like it’s important. You know, when my grandpa came back from World War I, he still had to step off the sidewalk to let somebody go.”

Tafoya said, “That makes me sick.”

Goldberg said, “It should. We need more people to feel like that so we can get to the place everybody thought we were with race and all the conversations. But America has had her reckoning. It continues to happen because unless we can say, ‘This is what the country was like. This is what we don’t want to be anymore.’ We have to teach the little ones to respect people because you’ll be around people, you’ll see people, you’ll hear people say things that won’t make sense to you. This is what happens in the country because we’re not past that.”

On January 30, 2023, Goldberg opined about the recent death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old black man who had died three days after being beaten by five black police officers in Memphis. The beating had occurred after Nichols was stopped by police for reckless driving and tried to flee the scene. Said Goldberg about the incident:

“Peaceful protests continued nationwide after Friday’s release of police footage showing officers savagely beating Tyre Nichols in Memphis. So far, five cops have been charged with second-degree murder and kidnapping. I asked this question way too many times at this table, but you know, when will the brutality finally lead to some police reform from the ground up? Because clearly, it doesn’t matter if it’s a white policeman or a black policeman. It is the problem with the policing itself. It seems things don’t make sense to people unless it’s somebody they can feel or they can recognize. Do we need to see white people also get beat before anybody will do anything? I’m not suggesting that. So don’t write us and tell me what a racist I am. I’m just asking, is that what people have to see in order to wake up and realize this affects us all?”

Goldberg’s Contempt for Donald Trump, His Supporters, & Republicans Generally

Goldberg has long been critical of conservatives and Republicans, but her attacks on both became more numerous and aggressive with Donald Trump’s political ascendancy.

Says She Might Leave the U.S. if Trump Is Elected President:

In the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election, Goldberg suggested on “The View” that she might leave the United States if Trump, the Republican nominee, were to win the White House. “I don’t think that’s America,” she said. “I don’t want it to be America. Maybe it’s time for me to move, you know.”

Smearing President Trump As a Racist:

On the September 10, 2019 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg misrepresented a comment that President Trump had made about criminals from other countries entering the United States, as an example of Trump’s alleged hatred for black people. While answering a reporter’s question recently about hurricane refugees from the Bahamas, Trump had said it was vital for the U.S., even in such circumstances of foreign crisis, to be judicious in deciding whom to allow into the country: “I don’t want to allow people that weren’t supposed to be in the Bahamas to come into the United States, including some very bad people and some very bad gang members and some very, very bad drug dealers.” Goldberg said of Trump’s remarks: “How do you not look at this man and say this is a racial problem? How do you not?” “[T]his is a race card,” she added. “The card can’t get any bigger than this!”

Portraying Trump as an Islamophobe:

On the December 9, 2015 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg denounced Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent call to temporarily bar Muslims from migrating to the United States. What Trump had actually said was that there should be “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on” vis-à-vis Islamic terrorism. But Goldberg chose to portray Trump’s message as an offensive and provocative slander that would serve only to help terrorist organizations like the Islamic State (ISIS) to recruit new members. Said Goldberg: “Listen. because we have freedom of speech in this country, he’s allowed to say what he wants to say. He’s allowed to do it. However, there are consequences. Now, I have a heads up for Homeland Security because Donald Trump seems to be recruiting, you know, a large group with the views that are against basic American values. He seems to be doing a very good job for ISIS, and I think maybe he should be on the watchlist.”

Describing Trump’s Presidential Victory as the Result of a “Whitelash” by Racist White Voters Who Hated Obama:

On the November 9, 2016 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg claimed that race had played a pivotal role in Republican president-elect Donald Trump’s recent victory at the polls. “You can say that there was no whitelash; there was a little bit of whitelash,” she said. “I remember. I was there. I watched what’s happened in America over the last eight years. Yeah, he [Barack Obama] did win [the White House] four years ago, and from that time also came all of the jokes about he’s not American, he’s not this, he’s not that. And you know, hearing people make sort of the kind of off-center racist joke.”

Added Goldberg: “What you’ve heard for the last four years is, you know, [that] he [Obama] doesn’t speak for us, he doesn’t know anything about us, he doesn’t have our best interests at heart. Who are they talking about? He’s an American president trying to help you.”

Comparing Trump & His Allies to the Taliban:

On the January 31, 2017 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg likened the “values” of President Trump and his administration to those of the Taliban. “We also keep hearing about terrorists hating our American values,” she said. “We had this conversation yesterday. So let me ask you now — now, we have had a leader [Trump] who’s repeatedly demeaned women, wants to defund organizations that benefit women, calling on the media to shut up, specifically wants to give preferential treatment based on religion. Are these values really much different than the Taliban’s?” “So the question is,” Goldberg added, “when you put some of these things side by side—what kind of religion you’re supposed to have, you’re supposed to have one religion…When he says there’s preferential treatment for Christians, forgetting the other religions out there…You know, here’s the thing. We have a Constitution that says these are the things that we don’t do. This is what makes us different from everybody else. Our media, nobody tells our media to shut up and just take it. Nobody. That’s not American. That is the Taliban.”

On the June 1, 2017 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg and fellow co-host Joy Behar discussed the Trump administration’s plan to reverse Obamacare’s highly controversial mandate requiring all employers to offer health insurance plans that covered the cost of contraception, sterilization, and a “morning-after” abortifacient drug – a mandate that gave no exemption to religious institutions whose moral principles might oppose such practices or products. As the transcript excerpt below demonstrates, Goldberg and Behar were in agreement that Christians who opposed the Obamacare mandate were akin to the Taliban:

BEHAR: How is it different from the Taliban? I’d like to know.

GOLDBERG: I just feel that you have to—at some point, you have to take responsibility for your life. And a lot of people are saying, this is what I need, and you’re saying it doesn’t matter what you need, I want you to believe how I believe. I’m going to say it again. I said this before. With all these rollbacks and what we hear, what’s the difference between us and the people we’re fighting?

BEHAR: Nothing.

GOLDBERG What’s the difference?

BEHAR: That’s what I’m saying. It’s to keep women down also. Let’s not forget one of the reasons they do this is to keep women in their place—barefoot and pregnant.

Goldberg Tells Trump: “Nobody Wiretapped Your Ass!”:

On the March 21, 2017 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg discussed FBI Director James Comey’s recent assertion that he had “no information that supports” President Trump’s tweets accusing the former Obama administration of having wiretapped Trump Tower prior to the 2016 presidential election. Said Goldberg: “So, yesterday, FBI director James Comey told the House Intelligence Committee there is no information about President Obama wiretapping Trump Tower, wiretapping Trump’s car, wiretapping Trump’s wife.” “The bottom line,” she concluded, “is nobody wiretapped your ass! So maybe [Trump aide] Sean Spicer, I know you don’t get this, but perhaps an apology to the former commander-in-chief [Obama] for accusing him of a federal crime, of a felony. The problem for me is when you know you’re wrong when the FBI, CIA, KFC, LMNOP said this didn’t happen and you double down on the lie.”

Refusal to Speak Trump’s Name Aloud:

In February 2018, Goldberg told CNN that her contempt for Trump was so profound, that she could not bring herself to speak Trump’s name aloud; she also implied that Trump was an illegitimate president. In a discussion about Trump and the “Me Too” movement with former Obama White House advisor David Axelrod:

Goldberg said, “We still have 16 women who are accusing the man in charge” (of sexual harassment and molestation).

“You’re talking about the president [Trump],” Axelrod said.

“Yeah,” said Goldberg.

“You never say his name,” he said.

“I don’t,” she said.

“Why?” he asked.

“I can’t,” she said.

“But it’s only one syllable,” he said.

“I know. I know,” she said.

“Do you think that it somehow honors him to use his name?” he asked.

“In conjunction with that word, yeah,” she said.

“You mean ‘president’?” he asked.

“Uh huh,” she said.

“I see. But you recognize that he is the president?” he asked.

“You know, I, he’s there,” Goldberg said. “Listen, this is the first time that I can’t wrap my mind around this.”

Refusal to Recognize Trump as President:

On the October 2, 2018 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg said she refused to “recognize” Donald Trump as U.S. President because he was taking a “giant dump” on the country: “We know everybody will have more money in their paycheck when they realize they can’t write anything off. I’m just saying, you know, everybody says there is going to be more, but in the long run, take a look at where you’re going to be in two years. That’s the question, you know? You might have some money now, but you’re going to end up spending more because you’re not able to write off anything or very few things. But the other thing about him is that, you know, I don’t mind if you are making the country better, but you can’t take a giant dump on it at the same time. For me, when you talk about people the way that do you, when you make fun of people’s looks, when you talk about women like they are so dumb they don’t — they can’t remember anything, when you talk about people of Mexican descent like they are not supposed to be in the country, when you talk about crap hole countries, when you talk like that, you know that’s not a president I recognize.”

Stating That It “Would Be Fun to Watch” Anti-Trump Riots if Trump Were to Fire Special Counsel Bob Mueller:

On the April 11, 2018 broadcast of “The View,” co-host Meghan McCain said that if President Trump were to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, who was investigating allegations that Trump had colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election in the U.S., riots would erupt in Washington, D.C.  “I do think everything you’re saying about what would happen if he does fire Mueller, I have said, Lindsey Graham has said, it’s political suicide,” McCain stated. “I one hundred percent think there would be — I think there would actually be rioting in Washington, D.C.  I think it would be at levels we haven’t seen.” Then Goldberg, for her part, replied: “Now that would be fun to watch, I have to say.”

Asserting That Trump Has Done Nothing to Help Black People:

On the May 7, 2018 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg, while discussing rapper Kanye West’s recent laudatory remarks about President Trump, stated that Trump had not done anything to help the African-American community. “I mean, even though there is five black people behind him with a sign that says, ‘Blacks for Trump,’ there is, like, four or five guys standing there. I think it’s the same person. I think it’s the same five people that go everywhere, but I could be wrong. I could be wrong.” Shortly thereafter, co-host Sunny Hostin said, “The premise is somehow that Trump has done so much for the African-American community, and I just don’t see it.” Goldberg, in turn, replied: “I don’t think anybody in their right mind can point to anything.”

Condemning Trump’s Decision to Move U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem:

On the May 15, 2018 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg lamented that the United States had lost much of its “credibility” on the world stage as a result of President Trump’s decision to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Said Goldberg: “I am concerned, you know, because I believe that the Jews and Palestinians can and should be living together on that land. And I don’t think that any one side should have done this. I don’t think we should have done this at all. And now we’ve lost our — I feel, lost a bit of credibility because the Palestinians also feel that that’s their land, too. They’ve — you know, they’ve lived their life there. That’s their blood also. And so there has to be a way. And the problem for me is, you know, what is the message? We’re saying we don’t care what you think, Palestinians. And I don’t think that’s the message that any of the former presidents wanted to send. I think they felt that there could be a way to do it.”

Accusing Trump & Republicans of Fascism:

On the March 26, 2019 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg claimed that a letter sent by President Trump’s re-election campaign asking television producers not to give air time to Democrat politicians who claimed that there was evidence of collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian operatives, was a “fascist” tactic.[1] Said Goldberg: “So, you-know-who [Trump] is wasting no time sort of capitalizing on the [Robert] Mueller report [examining evidence of collusion], even though we haven’t read it yet. He’s attacking the media as the enemy of the people on Twitter, again. And his campaign sent a letter to TV producers asking them to strongly consider keeping anyone off the air saying there was evidence of collusion. Calling them outrageous and unsupported claims. The letter lists some politicians and public figures by name. But you know, when those kinds of lists, enemies list, is kind of out of the fascists’ playbook. You want to be careful naming people ‘the enemy of the people.’”

Comparing Trump to Nazi Doctor Mengele:

On the April 27, 2020 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg drew a comparison between Doctor Josef Mengele, a Nazi who tortured and murdered Holocaust victims at the Auschwitz concentration camp, and President Donald Trump. Falsely indicating that Trump had recommended that people drink bleach in order to rid themselves of the deadly coronavirus which was spreading rapidly across the country, Goldberg said: “Well, I have to say the reason that the story is still in the news is if you have little kids, you have to constantly explain to them, no, you cannot drink bleach. You cannot do this. You know, the last person that really even suggested anyone use bleach was a man called Dr. Mengele, and he did bad things to people. So we don’t discuss bleach.”

Telling Trump Voters to “Suck It Up” After Trump’s Election Defeat:

Soon after Election Day 2020, as official returns pointed to a Joe Biden victory over Trump, Goldberg stated that Trump’s supporters needed to “suck it up” and admit that their candidate had lost. “To all those people who don’t believe that Americans actually got out and voted, let me say this to you,” she said. “When you know who was elected four years ago, Hillary Clinton didn’t say, ‘Hey, wait a minute, this doesn’t feel right, stop the count.’ She didn’t say, ‘This doesn’t feel right, I’m not going for it.’ She didn’t say any of that. So all of you, suck it up. Suck it up like we sucked it up.”

Goldberg further said that Trump’s supporters who had arguments with the election result should take it “to the law,” and “if the law says it’s something to look at, look at it.” “But from now on,” she reiterated, “suck it up.” Goldberg also suggested that Trump lacked the courage to face the truth of his election defeat. “Grow the pair [of testicles] for him that he can’t grow for himself,” she said to Trump supporters. “Because this is ridiculous, you’re not sure that he won. You’re bringing into question all these Americans who voted legally, came out and stood and voted. How dare you question it?”

Accusing Republicans of Not Caring if People Died of COVID:

On the November 16, 2020 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg claimed that Republican lawmakers’ failure to pass yet another COVID-19 stimulus bill showed that the party “doesn’t care if you drop dead because you can’t breathe” due to coronavirus infection.

Accusing Trump of “Attempting a Coup”:

On the November 23, 2020 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg charged that President Trump was “attempting a coup” with his legal challenges to the result of the 2020 presidential election. “There’s so much disinformation coming out about these crazy court cases that he keeps doing, and what’s happening in Michigan right now,” Goldberg said to co-host Sunny Hostin. “I mean, it feels like they’re attempting a coup to me, Sunny. I know everybody doesn’t want to hear that, but that’s what dictators do when they try to say, ‘this election wasn’t real, I’m going to try to change it.’” After Hostin said, “I think what we’re seeing is a president attempting to steal an election to overturn results [and] in addition disenfranchise voters of color,” Goldberg reiterated: “I’m sorry. This is an attempted coup. This is what dictators do when they want to take a country away from its people.”

Accusing Trump & Republicans of Fascism:

On the April 27, 2021 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg accused Republicans of “inviting people to test the waters of fascism…. It’s freaky, but that is what it feels like to me.”

Portraying Trump & Republicans as Racists:

In a January 11, 2022 discussion with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on “The View,” Goldberg said, “You vowed to call a vote on major voting rights legislation in time for Martin Luther King Day next week. I just want – I want to ask you this because it’s irritating me to the nth degree. Why are we still talking about my right as an American to vote? I still feel like suddenly black people still are where we were under the Emancipation Proclamation. What is happening? Why are we still fighting this way? What’s – what’s going to change?”

Schumer replied: “You’re 100% right, and it’s not just staying the same. It’s going to get worse if we don’t do something. What happened is this, Donald Trump spread the big lie that the election was fraudulent. Of course, it wasn’t. He had no evidence, but state legislatures, only Republicans, very partisan, no Democrats, are now making it harder for people to vote based on that false big lie that the election was fraudulent. But they’re not aiming it at everybody. They’re aiming it at people of color. They’re aiming it at poor people. They’re aiming it at students. They’re aiming it at the elderly. They’re aiming it at the disabled.”

Portraying Republicans as Fans of Authoritarianism:

In February 2022, Goldberg smeared Republicans as admirers of the authoritarian Russian President Vladimir Putin. Asserting that she was not surprised by the “traitorous behavior” of Republicans who had supposedly praised Putin, she said: “I’m not surprised that they really love the idea because it kind of sounds like they’re admiring a guy who rigs elections and is a macho leader. It sounds like this is what they would like to bond with.”

Claiming That Trump Would Have “Sold” America to Russia if He Were Still President:

After Trump said that Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine was a “savvy” and “genius move” that “never wouldn’t happened” if Trump had still been in office, Goldberg retorted on “The View”: “No, you [Trump] would’ve sold the country.”

Accusing Republicans of Hypocrisy Regarding Ukraine:

After Republicans criticized President Joe Biden for supposedly dragging his heels on getting aid to Ukraine during its invasion by Russia, Goldberg accused Republicans of hypocrisy on “The View” on March 17, 2022. “I’m sorry, where were all these Republicans when the former guy in office [Trump] was holding money hostage, saying ‘We’re not going to give you the money until you give me the information about Hunter Biden?’” Goldberg asked. “I mean, I don’t remember them being concerned at all that there was an issue,” she continued, “particularly when the president of the Ukraine said, ‘Listen, we need this, we need to be able to defend ourselves,’ and he dangled! Where the hell were y’all? I don’t remember you giving a good, blessed –,” Goldberg said, cutting herself off in mid-sentence.

Portraying Republican Opponents of Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson As Racists:

On the April 4, 2022 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg charged that Republican senators who opposed the confirmation of President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson (a black woman), were racists. Said Goldberg: “You know, this is the most ridiculous — just say I don’t trust a black woman to do the job because I know that y’all didn’t have these same issues with [white Supreme Court nominee] Amy Coney Barrett. You didn’t ask those questions. You didn’t have those problems when Amy Coney Barrett answered the same way that Judge Ketanji Brown did when you asked her if you thought they were going to need more people on the Supreme Court. Nobody seemed to have a problem with her answer.”

“You know what?” Goldberg added. “I know what this is. We all know what it is. We know what it is. We recognize it. We’re used to this. But you know what? You can’t take away what this woman is, and who she is, and what she’s done and how she got there. Why wouldn’t you want someone who is overly qualified to do the job, so it gets done right?”

Telling Trump to “Get Over” His Electoral Defeat of 2020:

On the May 24, 2022 edition of “The View,” Goldberg called out former President Trump after he said that he was “very disappointed” that his former Vice President, Mike Pence, had favored certifying the 2020 presidential election results that indicated a Biden victory. “Dude, you lost,” Goldberg said, directing her remarks at Trump. “Get off it.” “You all are always telling us, ‘Get over it,’” Goldberg added. “Get over it, man. You lost that election. You lost it.”

Accusing Republicans of Hypocrisy in Their Disparate Treatment of Trump and Hillary Clinton:

In September 2022, Goldberg said on “The View” that Republicans were wrong to come to Trump’s defense when he was accused of stealing classified government documents and supposedly holding them at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. Citing the anger Republicans had felt in 2016 when Hillary Clinton was accused of misappropriating thousands of government emails, Goldberg stated: “It’s just kind of funny how they were out of their minds about a couple of pieces of information, emails that she [Hillary Clinton] had. People lost their mind. Now this one [Trump] took stuff, and [he] just took it! And then lied about having it.”

Blaming Fox News for Violent Attack Against Paul Pelosi:

On the November 1, 2022 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg stated that Fox News was at least partially responsible for having incited the recent violent attack against Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “So, the attacker, who had previously posted Q-Anon conspiracy theories on social media,” said Goldberg, “also had zip ties and told the authorities he intended to break the Speaker’s kneecaps if she lied to him, I mean. Is this? What else needs to happen? […] Fox News, some of this is on your hands. Some of this is on your hands. You like to call people out. Well, I’m calling you all out. Stop with the ‘that side is not good.’ Because this is what it puts out there, it has tells people that you think it’s OK to do this. Stop doing it.”

Blaming Right-Wing Rhetoric for a Mass Shooting:

On the November 21, 2022 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg stated that a November 19 mass shooting that had left five people dead and more than two-dozen injured at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, was a direct result of right-wing rhetoric:

“It’s breaking my heart that we’re starting once again with this kind of topic. The latest mass shooting in America was Saturday night in Colorado at an LGBTQ+ nightclub where five people were killed and at least 25 were injured. No motive has been released, but GLAAD and all the activists are pointing their fingers at the rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and the political policies. Other folks are saying, you know, once again, an AR-15-style rifle was the weapon of choice. I know the thing that I want to say is, you know, this is what rhetoric brings.

“Words matter, words matter, and people like [Republican U.S. House Representative] Lauren Boebert [of Colorado], who, you know, has been in the forefront of dissing LGBTQ-plus people is now saying her prayers and thoughts go with the families. Well, they don’t really need your prayers and thoughts. They needed your votes. That’s what they needed. You know, this is no put-down on prayer, but, you know, what is going on here? I mean, I see, and I know you hate when this stuff happens because we’re pointing at people, but this is crazy.”

Goldberg on Abortion Rights

“Get Out of My Vagina”:

On the June 28, 2018 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg voiced her concerns about the prospect of President Trump nominating a Supreme Court Justice to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy. Focusing on the issue of abortion rights, Goldberg said:

“Here’s the piss-off for me. I’m the person that does believe that just because someone is appointed doesn’t mean — and I believe I have said that a lot about the Supreme Court — that you never know a person on the Supreme Court is going to vote because sometimes, you know, things change. They wake up. They see things. I don’t like hearing, again, that I’m trying to take your rights away. I have to tell you, as a woman, I think you’re trying to take my rights away.

“As a person who believes in the Constitution which tells me that I have the right to be myself and do the things I want to do, and I don’t have to listen to what your religion is, and I don’t have to listen to what you want it to be. I have to make sure that as an American citizen, I’m doing the right stuff and taking care of business. I don’t like this line that I as a Democrat, or an Independent or whatever, is trying to take away anything from you. I’m trying to hold onto my personal rights so that you can have the rights you want. Because if you take mine, I feel like you’re the one with the problem. If you take my right away from me, to judge what I do for my family and my body, I got a little problem with that. You got a problem. You don’t want people to take your guns? Get out of my behind. Get out of my Vagina. Get out.”

Defending Planned Parenthood & Abortion Rights: “I Don’t Want You in My Coochie”:

On the June 4, 2019 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg derided former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s June 3rd keynote address at the Susan B. Anthony List’s 12th annual Campaign for Life Gala. Said Goldberg in defense of Planned Parenthood: “So where do the women go when they need to have a vaginal check? Where do they go? Planned Parenthood is much more than an abortion clinic – much, much more — that do many more things…. Now, again, I don’t say that everybody has to believe, but I say you want to have choice, I don’t want you in my coochie! Get out of it. You don’t want me in yours either.”

Denouncing Opponents of Abortion Rights:

On the December 2, 2021 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg discussed the oral arguments that were taking place in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court case that was challenging the constitutionality of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. She took particular umbrage at the question that Justice Samuel Alito had raised: “The fetus has an interest in having a life, and that doesn’t change, does it, from the point before viability to the point after viability?” Said Goldberg in reaction to Alito’s question: “Do any of you men have any eggs or the possibility of carrying a fetus? How dare you talk about what a fetus wants! You have no idea. Now, I’m fine if you disagree with abortion. I have no problem with that. My problem comes when you tell me what I need to do with my doctor and my family. How dare you! How dare you!”

Outraged at Male Republicans Opining Against Abortion Rights:

On the September 14, 2022 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg voiced her outrage over the fact that male leaders in the Republican Party were speaking out in support of a federal ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. “Listen, I just can’t take it,” said Goldberg. “All these men talking about what is right. You don’t have — you don’t know jack about my body. You didn’t take enough time to sit down with anybody to find out what really can go wrong with a woman’s body. She can want to have the baby and still have stuff go wrong with her body, and you guys have not put any thought about that into it.”

Supporter of Voting Rights for Felons

On the April 23, 2019 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg defended Senator Bernie Sanders for arguing that felons, including terrorists, should be permitted to vote, from prison, in American political elections. Breitbart.com provided the following transcript and account of the conversation between Goldberg and co-host Meghan McCain:

“Does anyone think a terrorist should have a right to vote?” Meghan McCain asked The View panel.

“Well, here’s what I’m going to say, if they let this terrorist out, because he served his time, he gets his — if he’s an American citizen…” Whoopi Goldberg said, pausing to ask McCain, “Why is your mouth open like that?”

“Because…Whoopi, he killed people,” McCain said.

“Yes, lots of people do this,” Goldberg replied.

“He is a terrorist…he’s a radicalized terrorist,” McCain said.

“Our Constitution says, if you’ve done your time…you have, we hope, been reformed, you’ve been changed. If they let him out, that means they feel his time is up and he gets to become the American citizen,” Goldberg said.

“If you’ve done your time–that’s what prison reform is about–if they let this man out, they are saying, ‘He has been reformed, we have–fixed him…We have rehabilitated him,” Goldberg said later in the panel.

Advocating for Jill Biden to Be U.S. Attorney General: “She’s an Amazing Doctor”

On the March 4, 2020 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg – ecstatic over Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s dominating performance in the previous day’s “Super Tuesday” primaries – asserted that Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, should be appointed as the nation’s leading medical authority: “I’m hoping Dr. Jill becomes the Surgeon General, his wife. Joe Biden’s wife. She would never do it but, yeah, she’s a hell of a doctor. She’s an amazing doctor.” At that point, co-hosts Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin gently corrected Goldberg, informing her that Mrs. Biden was not a medical doctor, but held a PhD in Education – and thus “might be good for Betsy Devos’ post” as Secretary of Education. After the commercial break that followed the foregoing exchange, Goldberg flippantly apologized for the gaffe: “I was wrong about Jill. Before you start emailing and texting.”

Promoting Barack Obama As VP Running Mate for Joe Biden

On the March 4, 2020 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg advocated for Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden to select former President Barack Obama as his vice presidential running mate. Breitbart.com provided the following transcript and account of the conversation between Goldberg and co-host Meghan McCain:

Goldberg said, “So I had another — I’ve been sitting here — I’ve been crazy all morning.”

Co-host Meghan McCain said, “It’s a crazy time.”

Goldberg said, “I’m sorry. I’m just going to do my crazy right now.”

McCain said, “I like it. I like when we go rogue.”

Goldberg continued, “Everybody was thinking about who could the VP be for Joe. I thought, oh man, what would happen if Joe Biden said my choice for VP is Barack Obama?”

After the audience cheered, Goldberg said, “He won’t, but it’s not illegal.”

McCain said, “It’s not going to happen.”

ABC legal analyst and co-host Sunny Hostin said, “I don’t think it’s illegal.”

Goldberg said, “It’s not illegal.”

Co-host Joy Behar said, “But you have to be eligible to run for president when you’re the vice president and he can’t.”

Goldberg said, “That’s not true.”

Claiming That Hillary Clinton Would Be a “Brilliant” Choice for Biden’s VP

On the March 13, 2020 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg speculated about whom Democrat presidential frontrunner Joe Biden might select as his vice presidential running mate: “You know who he should pick but he won’t? The person who he should actually pick?… The person who really is qualified to do it, and he cannot pick her — Hillary Clinton. I’m just saying, in terms of the qualifications. She is — she would be brilliant.”

Supporting Democrats Warnock & Osoff in Georgia Senate Runoffs

In December 2020, as a pair of January 2021 runoff races for U.S. Senate seats in Georgia drew closer, Goldberg was one of many Hollywood celebrities who actively helped raise money for the Democratic candidates in those races, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

High Praise for President Biden

On the February 15, 2021 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg introduced a video montage of President Joe Biden by stating triumphantly, “We finally have a president in office who we are honored to celebrate.” After the video clips of Biden had finished, co-host Joy Behar said, “He’s adorable. He’s so genuine and sweet and lovely and funny. Everything you want in a man and in a president, you know? He’s great, and he’s right for these times. He’s perfect for these times, I think.” Goldberg, for her part, said: “I think it’s why he didn’t win before, because it wasn’t his time because he was going to be needed later on. So, you know, I have to say, you know, he’s a great riding buddy if you are on the train. You know?  I love riding. I would catch up with him, back and forth on the train, and he’s just a great guy. He’s a real guy. So I understand talking to him a lot. So I’m glad we got him too, Joy. I’m glad we all got him. He’s all of our presidents. He’ll figure out how to make it work for everybody, and that’s the best thing.”

Controversial Comments about the Holocaust

In February 2022, Goldberg was suspended for two weeks by ABC News after saying, on the January 31, 2022 airing of “The View,” that the Nazis’ genocide of Jews was “not about race.” The comment came during a discussion about a Tennessee school district’s decision to ban Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust, because it contained profanity, nudity, and suicide.

‘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 initially said. When panel members disagreed, Goldberg said the book was about “man’s inhumanity to man,” given that “these are two white groups of people.”

ABC News president Kim Godwin subsequently told the network’s employees in a memo: “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.” “These decisions are never easy, but necessary,” Godwin wrote as well. “Just last week I noted that the culture at ABC News is one that is driven, kind, inclusive, respectful, and transparent. Whoopi’s comments do not align with those values.”

In December 2022, according to the New York Post, Goldberg did it again, repeating her claim that the Holocaust was “not about race.” “My best friend said, ‘Not for nothing is there no box on the census for the Jewish race. So that leads me to believe that we’re probably not a race,’” Goldberg had said to the Sunday Times of London.

When asked about her December remarks, Goldberg claimed she was not “doubling down” on her past comments but was only trying to clarify them. “Recently while doing press in London,” she explained, “I was asked about my comments from earlier this year. I tried to convey to the reporter what I had said and why, and attempted to recount that time. It was never my intention to appear as if I was doubling down on hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in. I’m still learning a lot, and believe me, I heard everything everyone said to me. I believe that the Holocaust was about race, and I am still as sorry now as I was then that I upset, hurt and angered people. My sincere apologies again, especially to everyone who thought this was a fresh rehash of the subject. I promise it was not.”

Calling on the British Royal Family to Apologize for Its Role in Slavery

On the March 25, 2022 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg called for the British royal family to formally apologize for the British Empire’s role in the slave trade of a bygone era. Said Goldberg: “We cannot ignore the fact that Britain ran roughshod over India for years… Let us not forget, when we talk about what needs to happen, all the folks that need to apologize. Listen, this is not new. I suspect [Prince] Charles, when he was in Barbados [in 2021], had some idea because he went on and apologized as he was releasing the hold that Britain has.[2]  So perhaps somebody is listening, and it’s the new group of folks – I don’t know if it’s Charles, [Prince] William, but one of them is supposed to be the person.”

Condemning the Archbishop of San Francisco for Banning Nancy Pelosi from Communion

On the May 23, 2022 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg asserted that the Archbishop of San Francisco was wrong for having banned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from receiving the sacrament of communion in the Catholic Church because of her pro-abortion stance, which was in contradiction to Church teachings. “The abortion rights battle is starting to blur the lines between church and state,” said Goldberg. “The Archbishop of San Francisco is calling for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be denied receiving communion because of her pro-choice stance. He’s one of the priests who also called for President Biden to be denied sacrament. This is not your job, dude. That is not up to you to make that decision. What is the saying? It’s kind of amazing, but, you know, what is the point of communion, right? It’s for sinners. It’s for sinners. It’s the reward of saints but the bread of sinners. How dare you? How dare you?”

Calling for a Ban on All AR-15 Rifles

On the May 31, 2022 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg argued that that AR-15 rifles should be banned everywhere in the United States. Her remarks included the following:

• “This AR-15 has got to go. I’m sorry…. There’s too much at stake, too many lives have been at stake, and too many damn little kids. I’m sick of seeing people talk about it. We should do something. I don’t care, NRA. You got to give that gun up. You can have your other yee-ha guns or whatever you want. The AR-15 is not a hunting gun. It is not a gun where you’re going to go out and shoot your dinner. This gun is meant to kill people. That’s what it’s for. And you can’t have it anymore.”
• “I’m not even going to tell you how pissed that I am so many folks are saying you can’t have what you need for your body, forget my body, you can’t have this gun because it kills people and children and I’m sick of it.
• “I don’t know what it’s going to take. Maybe it’s going to take us to vote the right people in. Maybe it’s us going out to vote and getting the right people in there. Because this is some BS. I’m sick of seeing little kids die because people aren’t paying attention.”

Implying That Senator Lindsey Graham Was a Homosexual

During a September 2022 conversation on “The View” with Biden White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Goldberg implied that Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime bachelor, was gay. Jean-Pierre said: “Senator Graham said maybe about a month ago, in early August, that he believes, when it comes to marriage, when it comes to abortion, it’s for the states to decide, so, Senator Graham, what changed?” Goldberg responded: “Well, maybe he’s getting married? Do it quick, because I know people are fooling around with our marriage rights, wherever you stand.”

Later during that same program, Goldberg said she had meant the comment about Graham as a joke. “I need to make clear that I was doing what I do as a comic,” she explained. “Sometimes I make jokes, and it was a joke, nothing more than that. I just got a whole conversation about people misunderstanding the joke. I mean, okay. I should probably never do this show again, if this is what it’s coming to. It was a joke, guys.”

Urging President Biden to Call out Republican “Freaks” Who Seek to “Change History”

During the January 7, 2023 broadcast of “The View,” Goldberg said that President Biden, during the State of the Union address which he was scheduled to deliver later that night, should chastise Republicans whom she accused of trying to “change history” — a reference to their opposition to the teachings of The 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory. Said Goldberg: “What I need from him desperately is I need for him to say to all those brown kids who adults keep saying your history isn’t important, ‘I’m your president, I’m telling you it is [important]. I’m your president. I’m telling you that I don’t accept the erasure of black and brown people from America’s history because there is not American history without these black and brown people.’ That’s what I want to hear him say tonight, because one of the things that he knows is that women, in particular, and particularly brown women, have worked their butts off to make sure that he became the president.”

Referring to Republican Governors Ron DeSantis (Florida) and Greg Abbott (Texas), Goldberg added: “I need to hear him [Biden] say, ‘This bonehead in Florida and in Texas is out of step with America. He’s out of step with who we are as a nation because there is no nation without us.’ I need to hear him say that, as my president. I need to know that he’s aware that there are freaks out there who are trying to change history, and he’s not going to stand for it. That’s what I want from you, Joe.”

Invoking the Bible in Defense of Trangender Surgery for Minors

During the April 27, 2023 episode of The View, Goldberg condemned: (a) conservative-led states whose legislatures sought to ban sex-reassignment surgeries for minors, and (b) parents who wished to remove sexually explicit books from school libraries and curricula. Her ire was sparked when the Republican majority in Montana’s House of Representatives voted to censure Democrat Member Zooey Zephyr, a biological male who identified as female, after Zephyr on April 18 had denounced Republicans who supported SB 99— a state bill calling for a ban on transgender surgeries for minors. “The only thing I will say,” declared Zephyr on that occasion, “is if you vote yes on this bill and yes on these amendments, I hope the next time there’s an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.” The Republican-imposed censure was designed to bar Zephyr — whose supporters on April 18 had disrupted state House proceedings by chanting loudly until they had to be removed from the gallery and, in several cases, arrested — from subsequently appearing in the House, though he would be permitted to vote by remote.

“Now, what the hell is going on in this country?” Goldberg began. “That’s what I want to know. What are the rules that say, ‘I don’t like what you’re saying, so I’m going to get a whole bunch of people to think like I think and we’re going to ban you from talking.’  When did that become the law of the land? My God, this is a party that says we believe in parents’ rights. You’re telling me that as a parent, I don’t — I’m not smart enough to decide if my child and I need to have gender-affirming — or doctors are not involved. So what is — I can’t decide what my kid reads, I can’t decide for my child, what my child says is going on? You’re telling me your beliefs — you’re — and they keep saying it, and I keep saying, ‘What Bible are you reading? Because God was really clear!’”

Goldberg Says Abortion Is Not Prohibited by the Ten Commandments

During the April 8, 2024 airing of The View, Goldberg, argued that because abortion was “not mentioned” explicitly in the Ten Commandments, it could not be banned on religious grounds. “I want to make sure that if you decide this is what you need to do [i.e., undergo an abortion], I’m going to get behind you because I don’t know your life,” she said to her co-hosts, “and if you say this [an abortion] is what you need, that’s what I’m going to do. Fifty weeks [gestation], seventy-five thousand weeks [gestation], whatever…. It’s nobody’s business. It’s you, your doctor, and God. That’s who you have to be conversational to. And it’s not mentioned in the Big Ten [Commandments], I’m just going to say…. God was pretty clear [in determining what issues the Ten Commandments would deal with]: Here’s the stuff that’ll make your life better on Earth. Here’s the thing, don’t lie, ’cause you don’t want people lying to you. Don’t mess with somebody’s wife, ’cause you’re going to be mad if they’re messing with yours. Just, you know, common-sense stuff.”

At that point, Catholic co-host Sunny Hostin interjected, “Evangelicals would say ‘thou shall not kill’ and it applies to it.”

Goldberg replied, “Well, here’s the thing, I think ‘thou shall not kill’ cannot be used as the block, because we allow wars all the time. The Crusades were about all these things.”

Footnotes:

[1] The memo named Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), former director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

[2] While Charles, who was born a century after abolition, had indeed acknowledged “the appalling atrocity of slavery,” he had not issued a formal apology for it.