Whoopi Goldberg Was Just Suspended From 'The View' For Her Holocaust Comments
Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from ABC's The View for her comments about the Holocaust.
The suspension comes after Goldberg suggested that the Nazis' efforts to wipe out the Jewish people during World War II was "not about race."
"Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments," Kim Godwin, the president of ABC News, said in a note addressed to staff on Tuesday evening.
"While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments," Godwin said.
Goldberg made her first comments about the Holocaust on Monday, during a discussion about a Tennessee school board that banned Maus, an award-winning graphic novel that depicts the Holocaust using cats and mice.
"This is white people doing it to white people, so y’all going to fight amongst yourselves," she said on Monday's episode of The View.
Jewish groups immediately spoke out against Goldberg, with many pointing out that the Nazis were trying to systematically destroy the Jewish people as a race during World War II.
Goldberg apologized for her controversial statement on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert later on Monday, but her apology didn't go well.
"It upset a lot of people, which was never, ever, ever my intention," she told Colbert. Goldberg also claimed that the Nazis had issues with ethnicity, not race, BBC News reports.
"As a Black person, I think of race as something I can see," she said. "So I see you, and I know what race you are. The discussion was about how I felt about that. I felt that it was really more about man’s inhumanity to man, and how horrible people can be to people, and we’re seeing it manifest itself these days."
Goldberg also acknowledged the backlash against her in a statement on Twitter.
"The Jewish people around the world have always had my support, and that will never waiver. I'm sorry for the hurt I have caused," read part of her statement on Twitter.
On Tuesday's episode of The View, the actress turned TV host issued a third public apology where she stated that she misspoke.
"Words matter, and mine are no exception," she said, after acknowledging that the Holocaust "is indeed about race."
"I regret my comments and I stand corrected. I also stand with the Jewish people," she said.