Whoopi Goldberg Suspended From ‘The View’ for Controversial Holocaust Remarks

Whoopi Goldberg’s comments about Hitler and the Holocaust have gotten her suspended from “The View” for two weeks. 

As reported by Variety, the co-host of the long-running daytime talk show has been catching some major heat lately for stating on the show that the Holocaust was “not about race.

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

She noted that the Holocaust was between two groups of “white people,” and that triggered many folks across social media who are calling for Whoopi’s ouster from “The View” altogether. 

The remarks drew immediate criticism from Jewish organizations

“The Holocaust was about the Nazi’s systemic annihilation of the Jewish people — who they deemed to be an inferior race,” wrote Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. “They dehumanized them and used their racist propaganda to justify slaughtering 6 million Jews. Holocaust distortion is dangerous.”

Later Monday, Goldberg apologized for her remarks on social media. She also apologized on-air on Tuesday’s episode of “The View,” where Greenblatt appeared as a guest. 

“So yesterday on our show, I misspoke,” Goldberg said at the top of the show. “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 addressed the scandal on the “Late Show” on Monday night, which was taped before she apologized.  

“It upset a lot of people, which was never ever, ever my intention,” Goldberg told Colbert. “I feel, being Black, when we talk about race, it’s a very different thing to me. So I said I thought the Holocaust wasn’t about race. And people got very angry and still are angry. I’m getting a lot of mail from folks and a lot of real anger. But 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 know what race you are. I thought it was more about man’s inhumanity to man…people said, ‘No, no, we are a race.’ I felt differently. I respect everything everyone is saying to me.

Goldberg’s suspension was announced in a statement released by ABC News on Tuesday night.

“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” reads a statement attributed to Kim Godwin, president at ABC News. “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.”

Some say suspending Whoopi is too extreme while others on Twitter have noted that a simple 2-week suspension is not enough. Do you agree? Sound off in the comments.