Whoopi Goldberg’s Long History of Appalling Takes, From Defending Cosby and Mel Gibson to the Holocaust – The Daily Beast

On Wednesday, ABC News announced the suspension of The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg following a set of ill-informed remarks she made (and later apologized for) about the Holocaust. During the shows Hot Topics segment on Monday, the panel criticized the recent banning of Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, which depicts the Holocaust, by a Tennessee school board supposedly due to its profanity and nudity. And the conversation ended up demonstrating in real time why the use of Art Spiegelmans book in academic institutions is so necessary when Goldberg argued that the Holocaust was not about race because it involved two groups of white people.

Whether Goldbergs comments were antisemitic, simply uneducated, dangerous, stupid, or all of the above is being widely debated across social media. Judging by her subsequent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where she essentially doubled down, Goldbergs ignorance seems to stem from a limited understanding of race solely as an American construct rather than a set of categories that white supremacists have defined and redefined for centuries and in other parts of the world to maintain power. No, Adolf Hitler did not establish the same color lines born out of the Atlantic slave trade that Goldberg alludes toalthough, plenty of Afro-Germans suffered and died under the Nazi regime, and Jim Crow inspired Germanys citizenships laws. But this dark period in history was unambiguously and fundamentally about race.

This sort of blunder isnt surprising, even from someone born just a decade after World War II ended. Like most historical flashpoints, our education system has done an insufficient (and willfully shitty) job of teaching students about antisemitism and contextualizing the Holocaust beyond a generally tragic event. Despite the visibility of white supremacists in the Trump era, I know a few people who would be surprised to know that Jews are their No. 1 enemy. Likewise, some viewers are arguing that Goldbergs comments shouldve been treated as a public teaching moment without a slap on the wrist. Additionally, the fact that the daytime talk show has entertained the asinine, racially ignorant views of Meghan McCain and other conservative commentators, while Goldberg is receiving public condemnation, is arguably suspect.

However, the EGOT-winning multi-hyphenate has a storied history of being loud and wrong that feels like its finally catching up to her. Specifically, many people are looking back on Goldbergs defense of her friend, actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson, on The View in 2010, following his racist and antisemitic comments about Black and Jewish peopleincluding an audio recording of the actor saying that he hoped his then-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, was raped by a pack of n---ers.

I dont like what he did here, she said on the show. But I know Mel and I know hes not a racist. He may be a bonehead. I cant sit and say that hes a racist, having spent time with him in my house with my kids.

Goldbergs legacy as an important, trailblazing figure for women and Black people and a staple of the liberal commentariat has long been at odds with her various controversies. We all remember or have read about Goldbergs infamous 1993 roast held at the Friars Club where her boyfriend at the time, Ted Danson, performed in blackface and said a slew of N-words and racist jokes. Goldberg ardently defended the routine and admitted to writing some of it, telling the press that she has never been about political correctness. Shes proved as much throughout her almost 15-year tenure on The View, defending former Ravens football player Ray Rice after he was caught on video violently assaulting his then-girlfriend, saying director Roman Polanskis rape of a 13-year-old girl wasnt rape-rape, and refusing to condemn Bill Cosby during most of his sexual-assault allegations saga. Just like her most recent controversy, The View brought on an expert to speak with Goldberg about statute-of-limitation laws in rape cases.

Goldbergs legacy as an important, trailblazing figure for women and Black people and a staple of the liberal commentariat has long been at odds with her various controversies.

Additionally, she was accused of victim-blaming actress Bella Thorne in 2019 after she criticized her for taking nude photos of herself when a hacker threatened to release them.

In recent years, Goldberg has been celebrated for her ability to cut through the noise on The View. This role of the wise, morally authoritative figure is often unwillingly given to Black women, whether theyve earned it or not. Likewise, Goldbergs viral back-and-forths with former co-host Meghan McCain have earned her praise and seemingly made some of the internet forget about her past indiscretions. To be fair, Goldbergs quick-wittedness and assertiveness as a personality was amusing when confronted with McCains serious, ill-tempered attitude. But winning an argument against the former Fox News commentator is not a necessarily difficult task nor an accurate representation of how equipped someone is to moderate political discussions on national television.

But thats the thing about The View: You could make the same assertion about most of the panelists who have sat around that table and made misinformed, offensive remarks. This has seemingly made the decision to eliminate Goldberg from what has long been a burning trash can of opinions more complicated for certain viewers. On top of that, you now have bad-faith right-wing pundits, like McCain, turning Goldbergs ignorance into an opportunity to own the libs and claiming to be better allies to the Jewish community.

Still, no matter how performative these responses may be, theres never been a better time for the 66-year-old to understand the magnitude of her platform, and that her words matter. Its also a crucial reminder that, no matter how commanding and charismatic our favorite celebrities may be, theyre rarely experts on things outside of what they are paid to do.

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Whoopi Goldberg's Long History of Appalling Takes, From Defending Cosby and Mel Gibson to the Holocaust - The Daily Beast