Whoopi Goldberg Suspended From ‘The View’ After Comments About The Holocaust

The comedian and actress was just suspended from 'The View' after making controversial comments, saying the Holocaust was 'not about race.'

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February 1, 2022 10:06PM EST
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Whoopi Goldberg, 66, has been suspended from The View for two weeks due to her controversial statements about the Holocaust. The co-host and moderator had faced major backlash after she had said that the Holocaust was “not about race,” during a discussion about schools banning Art Spiegelman’s Maus. Despite her multiple apologies, ABC opted to suspend the co-host.

“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for her wrong and hurtful comments,” ABC News President Kim Godwin announced on Tuesday night, Feb. 1. “While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments.” HollywoodLife has reached out to ABC and The View for further comments.

Whoopi got called out after the January 31 episode, when discussing Maus. While discussing the shocking decision by a Tennessee school district to ban the graphic novel about the Holocaust, Whoopi made the controversial comment. “The Holocaust isn’t about race,” she said, but co-host Joy Behar corrected her: “Well, they considered Jews a different race.” Whoopi then explained why she had said that the holocaust wasn’t about race. “It’s about man’s inhumanity to man,” she said.

After receiving tons of backlash for the comments, Whoopi issued an apology for her hurtful words. “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,” she tweeted on Monday. “I stand corrected. 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.”

Following her first apology, Whoopi started Tuesday February 1’s broadcast by backtracking her comments again and a brief interview with Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “It is indeed about race, because Hitler and the Nazis considered 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 y’all know, because I’ve always done that,” she apologized right off the bat.

Before Whoopi’s suspension, an insider revealed that executives felt like she “went way too far,” in a statement to Page Six. “Many at the network — including her fellow hosts — believe Whoopi is too controversial now for the show,” the source told Page Six. “This will cast a shadow over everything for a while.”