When you have to offer a second apology for something you said, you might have messed up the first one. As well as what you said in the first place.
That’s where Whoopi Goldberg of ABC’s “The View” finds herself following comments she made about Jewish people and Nazi Germany. And that controversy has led to a two-week suspension from the daily show. ABC News president Kim Godwin put out a statement late Tuesday night saying Goldberg has been suspended for her “wrong and hurtful comments.”
Godwin went on to say, “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."
It all started on Monday when “The View” discussed “Maus,” the graphic novel about the Holocaust that has been removed from a school district’s curriculum in Tennessee. During the panel discussion, Goldberg said, “Let’s be truthful about it because Holocaust isn’t about race. It’s not about race. It’s not about race. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man.”
Co-host Ana Navarro pushed back by saying, “But it’s about white supremacists going after Jews.”
But Goldberg snapped back, “But these are two white groups of people! 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 doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white, Jews, it’s each other.”
Almost immediately, Goldberg came under criticism for her remarks, including from Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who tweeted, “No @WhoopiGoldberg, the #Holocaust was about the Nazi’s systematic annihilation of the Jewish people – who they deemed to be an inferior race. They dehumanized them and used this racist propaganda to justify slaughtering 6 million Jews. Holocaust distortion is dangerous. #ENOUGH.”
Goldberg tweeted out an apology on Monday that said, in part, “I’m sorry for the hurt that I have caused. … The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waiver (sic).”
Greenblatt quote-tweeted Goldberg’s tweet and wrote, “Thanks @WhoopiGoldberg for correcting your prior statement and acknowledging the #Holocaust for what it was. As #antisemitism surges to historic levels, I hope we can work together to combat ignorance of that horrific crime and the hate that threatens all.”
But there was another twist to this. Between her comments on “The View” and her apology on Twitter, Goldberg’s guest appearance on Monday’s “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” was taped. That show didn’t air until Monday night. On the show, she sort of apologized for what she said, but kind of reiterated what she said, too.
“It upset a lot of people, which was never ever, ever my intention,” Goldberg said. “I feel, being Black, when we talk about race, it’s a very different thing to me. So I said I thought the Holocaust wasn’t about race. And people got very angry and still are angry. I’m getting a lot of mail from folks and a lot of real anger. But 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 know what race you are. I thought it (the Holocaust) was more about man’s inhumanity to man. … People said, ‘No, no, we are a race.’ I felt differently. I respect everything everyone is saying to me.”
She added, “I don’t want to fake apologize. I am very upset that people misunderstood what I was saying. And because of it, they are saying I am anti-Semitic and denying the Holocaust and all these other things that would never occur to me to do. I thought we were having a discussion about race, which everyone is having.”
The conversation, which you can watch here, went back and forth, with Colbert asking Goldberg if she realized Nazis considered their attempt to exterminate Jewish people to be a racial issue. Goldberg responded by saying, “This is what’s interesting to me: The Nazis lied. They had issues with ethnicity. Most of the Nazis were white people and most of the people they were attacking were white people. So to me, I’m thinking, ‘How can you say it’s about race when you’re fighting each other?’ … Don’t write me anymore, I know how you feel. I’ll take your word for it and never bring it up again.”
But because “The Late Show” aired after her Twitter apology, Goldberg had to address the issue again on Tuesday’s “The View.”
Goldberg opened Tuesday’s show by saying, “Yesterday on our show, I misspoke. I tweeted about it last night but I want you to hear it from me directly. I said something that I feel a responsibility for not leaving unexamined because my words upset so many people, which was never my intention. I understand why now, and for that, I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful, and it helped me understand some different things.”
She added, “I said the Holocaust wasn't about race and 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.”
Goldberg went on to say, “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.”
In addition to a much better apology, Goldberg and “The View” had Greenblatt as a guest. He said on the show, “There's no question that the Holocaust was about race. That's how the Nazis saw it as they perpetrated the systematic annihilation of the Jewish people across continents, across countries, with deliberate and ruthless cruelty.”
Goldberg’s apology seemed sincere and her latest remarks do seem to indicate she understands what she said was wrong.
And Greenblatt thanked and forgave Goldberg by tweeting, “Deeply appreciate @WhoopiGoldberg inviting me on to @TheView today to have an important discussion on the importance of educating about the Holocaust. Whoopi has been a long-time ally of the Jewish community and @ADL and her apology is very much welcome.”
But ABC still decided to suspend her. CNN’s Oliver Darcy wrote, “(Goldberg’s) comments bothered staffers across ABC News. While some accepted her apology, others believed disciplinary action was warranted, according to conversations with employees.”
The GOAT retires
