Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from the view following her
statements in regard to the holocaust,
now context is everything we're gonna give you all the details.
The story has been developing over a few days now.
But it all started when the ladies of the view,
we're engaging in a pretty heated debate about Mouse which is an award winning
holocaust graphic novel that's been banned from Tennessee schools.
The Tennessee School Board has banned it.
And so it's this ongoing censorship movement by the right wing the very
people who claim that they're against cancel culture.
They're trying to wipe away books that have been written
by authors who are black, women L G B T Q Community.
It doesn't matter anyone who's different.
They want those books erased.
So they're having a debate about this.
And Whoopi Goldberg argued that the holocaust is not about race or
was not about race.
And she blamed something else instead.
So here's what the statement was.
Here's what got her in trouble.
And then we'll give you the rest.
>> Holocaust isn't about race, no it's not about race.
[CROSSTALK] It's about race but it's it's not about race.
It's not about race because it's
about man's inhumanity to man.
That's what it's about.
>> But it's about white supremacy.
>> But it's not about them.
[CROSSTALK] But these are two white groups of people [CROSSTALK].
But you're missing the point.
You're missing the point the minute you turn it into race,
it goes down this alley, let's talk about it for what it is.
It's how people treat each other.
It's a problem.
It doesn't matter if you're black or white cuz black,
white Jews, it's everybody eats each other.
>> So the holocaust was about race because Hitler and
the Nazis saw Jews as a different and inferior race.
That was what it was about.
And look, I think it's important because I can see what Whoopi was like.
I could see the point that she was trying to make.
Okay, lemme just back up for a second and put things in more context.
I don't think Whoopi Goldberg is very smart.
Sorry, I we've criticized her in different contexts before and
she just maybe smart is not the right word.
She is not knowledgeable about the things that she argues about that is a better way
of putting it.
>> I don't watch enough to have any idea about her overall level of intelligence.
>> Intelligence is not the right way to put it because I think that she is
a perfectly smart person, but she tends to speak out of a place of ignorance a lot.
And I've seen enough of the view to make to share that opinion.
>> I haven't, I know that they have to comment on a lot of different things and
they're not, it's not John Oliver, they're not prepping for
three weeks to talk about, like flood insurance.
It is more casual, definitely.
So they're more likely to fall into holes like that.
>> Yeah, so I think what she was trying to do, there was make like some I don't know,
some point about humanity and I don't think it came from a bad place.
That's what I'm trying to say.
I don't think that there was malicious intent.
I don't think that she's an anti Semite.
>> She wasn't denying the holocaust.
>> She wasn't denying the holocaust honestly, like when this story first broke
and I saw that I was like it's not it's kind of a dumb thing to say, but
I don't think it's malicious and I moved on, but it's further devolved from there.
>> Yeah, it's like pointlessly attempting to be deeper clever than
you're capable of being in the moment.
>> Yes. >> Because like yeah,
there definitely is something about the sort of primal willingness
of individuals and groups of humans to be inhuman to others.
Also it was about race, it wasn't just about race, there was a lot of homophobia,
there was a lot of xenophobia against people from outside of that country.
There was a lot of different hatreds all lumped together, but there was also a ton
of racism and antisemitism and it's not just, well it was too white groups.
This like that is the thing that gets argued about, I think it's insane,
but it's also not like that this isn't following on literally
thousands of years of antisemitism baked into most of Europe.
It was just thoughtless in a lot of different ways.
>> Yeah.
>> And again I agree that I don't think it's not the same as like,
well I think they're exaggerating the holocaust.
It's not that and I don't think there was ill intent.
I actually dislike the things that she said afterward to try to nuance it more.
I feel like she could have just apologized and tried to learn the initial comment.
I think she was in over her head but not from a place of evil.
>> Yeah, I think we agree. I think we just agree.
We have the same take on the initial statement.
Now let's get to how she kind of made the situation worse.
Now she apologized immediately after that episode,
she goes on twitter, she apologizes but she then kind of undid her
own apology while appearing on Colbert show, she said this.
I thought it was a salient discussion because as a black person I think of
race as being something that I can see.
So I see you and I know what race you are and that discussion was about how
I felt about that people were very angry and they said no, no we are a race and
I understand, I understand I felt differently at that point.
>> Just ignorant, It's ignorant.
>> Yeah.
>> And it's not like the thing that's frustrating about it is that there
are definitely components of, we could get into a conversation about passing and
about where the socio constructed lines of race fall.
But then you have things like the one drip drop principle in american history and
there is a lot of conversation there.
But to say that Jewish individuals can't identify as a race or
to believe that in the current era or in 1930s and 1940s era Germany, there
wasn't any capacity to tell from a glance that someone might be Jewish or not.
There's just a lot of layers of ignorance there.
>> Yeah and you know what,
I'm actually gonna go back to something you said earlier.
I get that this isn't like PBS frontline news, I get it.
But they weigh in on heavy topics every single morning or
every single day and they have a large audience.
The new york times is referred to the view as the most important political show in
the country.
I'm not even exaggerating.
>> Which clearly is Fox and Friends.
So that was ignorance too but.
>> And so look, I'm sorry you do have a responsibility,
the producers and the host of that show have a responsibility to
be informed on what they're talking about, right?
So I like, I'm kind of tired of like, there's a gaggle of gals,
they're just, it's not a serious new show except they're weighing in on things and
people trust them.
People turn to them for their opinions and believe in what they're saying.
And I think that is a problem.
If you're going to weigh in on heavy topics like this,
just please make sure that you're speaking from a knowledgeable place.
And if you don't know what you're talking about, it's okay to not say anything at
all, it's okay to not like to try to make some random profound point.
Like it's anyway.
>> It's very similar to what we said about Rogan.
>> Yeah.
>> You may wanna just have potted up chat show or whatever, but millions of people
listen to you and you choose to talk about things that are literally life and death.
>> Yeah.
>> When you combine all those things,
a certain level of responsibility should be required even if in practice it's not.
>> Exactly.
So now after she made that statement on Colbert show the backlash,
not only ensued, it was exacerbated.
So the A D L had released a statement,
this is the CEO of the anti defamation league.
He says the holocaust was about the Nazis systemic annihilation
of the Jewish people who they deemed to be an inferior race.
They dehumanize them and use their racist propaganda to justify slaughtering
six million Jews holocaust distortion is dangerous and also wanna know like and
I know that this is not what her intention was.
But this comment was made with the backdrop of the right wing constantly
denying racism exists right rejecting the notion that certain things have
happened as a result of racism.
And so I think whether we like it or not, people are already well meaning people
are already kind of like subconsciously primed to immediately have like a knee
jerk reaction to statements like the one that she made.
Without even really thinking about, okay, what was the intention here?
You know?
So with that said she did invite the CEO of the anti defamation league on the view.
She said that she wanted to improve her understanding of the issue.
And she also issued another apology on air.
So let's take a quick look at that.
>> I said something that I feel a responsibility for not leaving unexamined
because my words upset so many people, which was never my intention.
And I understand why now and for that I am deeply,
deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful and
help me understand some different things.
And while discussing how a Tennessee school board unanimously
voted to remove a graphic novel about the holocaust.
I said that the holocaust wasn't about race and
it was instead about man's inhumanity to man.
But 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.
>> I think that was a great apology.
>> It was pretty good.
I could pick a [CROSSTALK] few little things, but no, no, it's fine.
I'm not, I wasn't going to, you went to me, I wasn't gonna interrupt.
>> That was a great apology.
>> It was good. >> It was good.
Look, not only look again, I think the intentions matter,
I don't think she was malicious.
I don't, I think that she spoke from a place of ignorance.
So like can we just, there are really bad people across the globe and
especially in this country and
we got to be hyper focused on mitigating the damage they wanna do.
I think that it is a disservice to focus on people like Whoopi Goldberg
as if she's the enemy again.
I think she said something that was deeply ignorant, she apologized.
I think that final apology was a good apology, but
after that apology, she was suspended.
And so, the view put out a statement saying that, effective immediately,
I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and
hurtful comments while Whoopi has apologized,
I've asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments.
The entire ABC news organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues,
friends, family, and communities.
I don't think anyone questioned whether ABC news as an organization,
stands by like it's just I think it's an overreaction.
I'm just keeping it real.
>> Yeah, like I said on my show, I would have rather that they spend two weeks,
periodically giving people the facts about the holocaust.
So there's no ambiguity because totally disconnected from anything Whoopi Goldberg
has said a lot of Americans do not know fundamental things about the holocaust,
about antisemitism, about Nazism.
Either back then in the German context or in the present day American context or
Nazism in America during World War Two.
So I think they could have used the time to educate people that said while I
agree it's an overreaction, she's gonna be fine.
And honestly like if this was the sort of over action that we could expect for
other things, other people in media who make these sorts of mistakes,
like when Tucker Carlson says something incredibly antisemitic or racist.
If they were to actually suspended for two weeks, I don't know,
I'd kind of be in favor of that.
It's just that we know it's like always the people who were least awful that
suffer the worst consequences.
>> Yeah, because we have higher standards for them.
>> Yeah. >> And my only ask is it's good that we
have higher standards for people, let's just also be understanding empathetic and
kind and also be cognizant of what the intentions were.
If I had any feeling,
if there was any inkling that Whoopi Goldberg was antisemitic then yeah,
I mean I would 100% be in favor of the suspension fact, I'd want more than that.
I wouldn't want her to have any kind of platform where she would spew anything
antisemitic.
But I didn't get that feel here again.
I do think she spoke from a place of ignorance, but
that's not to do away with any responsibility.
Like I said, if you're gonna weigh in on heavy issues,
especially things that have to do with like the holocaust,
just make sure you know what you're talking about before you speak.
That's it.
Anyway.
All right, well, we do wanna ask you guys by the way what you think.
So we have a poll on this should Whoopi have been suspended yes or no.
I'm actually really curious what our audience thinks about this.
So, we'll fill you in later.
>> I have no guess.
>> Yeah, I don't know.
I don't know that. It's part of the reason why
I kind of didn't wanna talk about this story in the first place.
It's like such a touchy subject for understandable reasons and
I think people are too quick to jump on people for
not wanting to like burn them at the stake.
And I just again, let's be a little more empathetic because I do think it's
a teachable moment, it could be a good opportunity, not just for Whoopi, but
for others, as John mentioned earlier.