Kyle Rittenhouse Threatens to Sue Whoopi Goldberg for Calling Him a Murderer

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Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, is planning on suing Whoopi Goldberg, 66. The teenager, who gained notoriety after he shot three protestors during June 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, announced plans to take legal action against a variety of people. He included The View moderator, because he said that she called him a “murderer” after he was acquitted from homicide charges during his trial in December 2021.

TUCKER: "Will you be suing any news organizations?"

KYLE RITTENHOUSE: "We're looking at quite a few, politicians, athletes, celebrities, Whoppi Goldberg is on the list, she called me a murderer after I was acquitted… So is Cenk [Uyhur] from the Young Turks." pic.twitter.com/MULZf38Vkf

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 22, 2022

Kyle shared that he planned to try to sue Whoopi during an appearance on Tucker Carlson‘s Fox News show on Monday February 21, where he also announced his foundation The Media Accountability Project.  “Right now we’re looking at quite a few politicians, celebrities, [and] athletes. Whoopi Goldberg’s on the list. She called me a murderer after I was acquitted by a jury of my peers. She went on to still say that,” he said. Besides Whoopi, Kyle also said he planned to try to sue The Young Turks creator and commentator Cenk Uygur. “He called me a murderer before verdict and continues to call me a murderer,” he said.

Other than Whoopi and Cenk, Kyle also shared plans to take action against those who accused him of being a white supremacist following the shooting. “We’re going to hold everybody who lied about me accountable, such as everybody who’s lied, called me a white supremacist. They’re all going to be held accountable, and we’re going to handle them in a court room,” he told Tucker.

HollywoodLife reached out to a representative for Whoopi Goldberg for comment, but we did not receive a response. A Colorado lawyer, who specializes in defamation and libel law, however, told HollywoodLife that she “highly doubts” Kyle “could make it past a motion to dismiss if he were to bring a case against Whoopi Goldberg.”

Ashley I. Kissinger of Ballard Spahr further told us, “Defamation cases are difficult to win when the plaintiff is challenging speech on a matter of public concern about a person who thrusts himself into the public eye, and speech about Kyle Rittenhouse’s deeds that night certainly fits that bill. Also, I have not seen what she said, but if it’s clear from context she believes he is a murderer, notwithstanding the jury’s verdict to the contrary, then Rittenhouse has no case. She plainly has a right to express that opinion under the Constitution.”

Kyle was found not guilty on all charges following his trial in November 2021, after his legal team had successfully argued that he’d acted in self-defense. After the trial, many stars, including Whoopi’s frequent guest co-host on The View Ana Navarro, tweeted their reactions to the verdict. Ana had said that it was a “stark reminder of inequity,” comparing Kyle’s verdict to Tamir Rice’s death at 12-years-old.

Shortly after Kyle was found not guilty, the teen went on a show for conservative network BlazeTV and called out LeBron James over a tweet that NBA star had written during the trial, where he accused Kyle of having crocodile tears, when recounting the night of the shooting. While Kyle didn’t mention whether the Lakers player was on his list during the Fox interview, he did make it clear he’s not a fan during the BlazeTV appearance in December. “I was really pissed off when he said that, because I liked LeBron, and then I’m like, you know what? F**k you, LeBron,” he said at the time.