Whoopi Goldberg suspended from The View, regrets saying Holocaust not about race
- The US actress had made the remarks during a discussion about a US school’s ban on ‘Maus’, a prize-winning graphic novel about Nazi death camps during WWII
- The flare-up highlighted the enduring complexity of race-related issues, including the question of whether only people of colour can be victims of racism
Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended for two weeks as co-host of The View because of what the head of ABC News called her “wrong and hurtful comments” about Jews and the Holocaust.
“While Whoopi has apologised, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organisation stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities,” ABC News President Kim Godwin said in a statement posted Tuesday on Twitter.
The suspension came a day after Goldberg’s comment during a discussion on The View that race was not a factor in the Holocaust. Goldberg apologised hours later and again on Tuesday’s morning episode, but the original remark drew condemnation from several prominent Jewish leaders.
“My words upset so many people, which was never my intention,” she said Tuesday morning. “I understand why now and for that I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful and helped me understand some different things.”
Goldberg made her original comments during a discussion on the show Monday about a Tennessee school board’s banning of Maus, a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Nazi death camps during World War II. She said the Holocaust was “not about race … it’s about man’s inhumanity to other man.”
“I misspoke,” Goldberg said at the opening of Tuesday’s show.