Whoopi Goldberg caused a lot of controversy on Monday when she claimed on The View that the Holocaust wasn’t about “race.”
It was a shocking moment on the show, and even her fellow liberal co-hosts challenged her to explain what she “really meant.” Goldberg explained that, in her view, the Holocaust wasn’t about race but rather “man’s inhumanity to man” because it was about “two groups of white people.”
Whoopi has made stupid comments on the show before (basically every episode), but these were probably her most controversial comments since 2009, when she said Roman Polanski’s rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977 wasn’t “rape-rape.”
“I know it wasn’t rape-rape. It was something else but I don’t believe it was rape-rape,” she said. “He went to jail and 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.”
According to the Daily Mail, staffers at ABC are furious with the network for not firing Whoopi in light of the backlash her remarks caused, especially when ABC fired Roseanne Barr because of her comments about Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.
“These comments are absolutely abhorrent and outrageous and it’s time Disney and ABC grew a pair and fired her,” the source told the Daily Mail. “Disney took swift action and fired Roseanne Barr when she posted the awful tweet about Valerie Jarrett, yet Whoopi made her vile comments on ABC’s air and they do nothing about it? Where is the leadership from within Disney? [Disney content chairman] Peter Rice needs to step up and do his job and fire Whoopi.”
“How is this appropriate at all?” the source continued. “What message do we send as a company? Why is there one rule for Whoopi Goldberg — who gets a pass on everything and another rule for everyone else?”
Sources told Page Six that Whoopi’s job might actually be in trouble.
“ABC staffers and Disney Network execs are saying Whoopi went way too far. And board members are not happy with her apology and want a fuller retraction. The word is that Whoopi is in ‘deep s–t,'” one ABC insider told them.
“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.”
While I understand that there is a double standard, I wonder if firing Whoopi is the right move here. She says dumb things daily and will continue to do so. It’s her brand now.
If ABC wants to make this situation right, they can a) fire Whoopi Goldberg or b) bring back Roseanne.
I think the better move is for ABC to rehire Roseanne Barr.
Related:
Related: Everybody Needs to Calm Down about Roseanne
Let’s be honest here: Roseanne was an outspoken Trump supporter, and ABC was likely looking for any reason to get rid of her. So they did, and the reboot of her show, Roseanne, was effectively reworked to continue without her. I watched the reboot—while she was still a part of it—and it was surprisingly good. I haven’t watched a single episode of the Roseanne-less version, called The Conners. Roseanne wasn’t treated fairly, and anyone who knows her knows she’s not racist, just as they know Whoopi Goldberg isn’t anti-Semitic, despite her ridiculous comments.
So, let’s bring back Roseanne. Yes, the show has moved on without her, but her show’s original run retconned its entire final season before retconning the retcon in the reboot as if nothing in that last season ever happened. Of course, they can do the same thing with The Conners. Who cares if it erases a few seasons?
I’d watch it.
