Home/Entertainment/Whoopi Goldberg breaks the silence on the latest Holocaust commentary
Whoopi Goldberg breaks the silence on the latest Holocaust commentary
Whoopi Goldberg's comments about the Holocaust have washed her in hot water for the second time this year. But the "Till" actor said she didn't mean it badly.
Months after Goldberg claimed in The View that the Holocaust was "not about race," the actress opened up about her controversial statements in an interview with British newspaper The Times published over the weekend.
"My best friend said, 'It's not for nothing that there isn't a census box for the Jewish race. That makes me think we're probably not a race,'" Goldberg told the news outlet.
When reporter Janice Turner Goldberg said the Nazis "saw Jews as a race," the actor replied, "The oppressor tells you what you are. why do you believe them
"They are Nazis," she continued. "Why believe what they say?"
In addition to reiterating that the Holocaust "wasn't originally about race," the actor claimed it was easier for Nazis to identify black people by their physical differences "because you couldn't spot a Jew on the street."
"That was the point I wanted to make," she said. "But you would have thought that I would have put a big old stinky pile on the table, stark naked."
Although Goldberg tried to clarify her January comments, some critics saw it as a duplication of her claims. Among those calling out the "Sister Act" star was Anti-Defamation League executive Jonathan Greenblatt.
"Yet again, #WhoopiGoldberg's comments about the Holocaust and race are deeply offensive and incredibly ignorant. he tweeted Tuesday morning.
Yet again, #WhoopiGoldberg's comments about the Holocaust and race are deeply offensive and incredibly ignorant. When she made similar comments earlier this year, we explained that the Nazi regime was inherently racist. 🧵Read more…
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) December 27, 2022
His Twitter thread continued: "Whoopi's comments demonstrate a complete lack of awareness of the multi-ethnic, multi-racial makeup of the Jewish community. She needs to apologize immediately and actually commit to finding out about the true nature of #Anti-Semitism."
After multiple outlets reported the backlash surrounding Goldberg's Times interview, the actor tried to clear the air again Tuesday night.
"I was trying to convey to the reporter what I said and why and trying to narrate that time," she said in a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday. "It was never my intention to appear to double down on hurtful comments, especially after speaking to and hearing from the likes of rabbis and friends old and new."
Goldberg, who says she's "still learning a lot," noted that she believes "the Holocaust was about race, and I'm still sorry like it was then."
In January, ABC News suspended Goldberg for her Holocaust commentary. She was on the road for two weeks as the co-host of The View.
"Although Whoopi has apologized, I asked her to take the time to reflect and learn more about the implications of her comments," ABC News president Kim Godwin said in a February staff memo. "The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, families and communities."
Hours after her suspension, Goldberg appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and told the host it was "never, never, never my intention" to hurt people.
"I thought we were having a discussion. As a black person, I feel like when we talk about race, it's a whole different thing for me," she told Colbert. "So I said I felt like the Holocaust wasn't about race. And people got very, very, very angry – and still are."
Goldberg concluded Tuesday's statement expressing her support for the Jewish community in the face of mounting anti-Semitic attacks.
"I want to be very clear that I have always stood by the Jewish people and always will," she said. "My support for her has not wavered and never will."
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-12-27/whoopi-goldberg-responds-holocaust-comments-the-view Whoopi Goldberg breaks the silence on the latest Holocaust commentary
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