UPDATE: After many hours of silence, Whoopi put out a statement Monday night apologizing and citing ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt for educating her on the Holocaust. More below.
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Following a Monday segment blasting podcaster Joe Rogan for spreading “misinformation,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg showed us that real misinformation and anti-Semitism was alive and well on ABC’s The View as she falsely suggested, “the Holocaust isn't about race” but just “two white groups” going at it.
As part of their discussion about a Tennessee school allegedly banning the Holocaust-themed graphic novel Maus (in reality it was simply removed from an 8th-grade reading list and they were open to bringing it back), Whoopi described the Holocaust as “white people doing it to white people. So, this is y'all go fight amongst yourselves.”
She also suggested the school thinking the nudity and language in the book weren’t suitable for 8th graders meant they were fine with systemic slaughter:
Personally, I'm shocked because, you know, given the story of Maus. I'm surprised that's what made you uncomfortable, the fact that there was some nudity. And uh, I mean, it's about the Holocaust, the killing of 6 million people, but that didn't bother you? But the naked – [Trails off]
Co-host Joy Behar agreed, calling their reason a “canard.”
A few minutes later, Whoopi let loose her full anti-Semitic perspective on what the Holocaust was: “Well also, if we're going to do this, then let's be truthful about it because the Holocaust isn't about race.”
Immediately following her false declaration, you could hear a pin drop on the set. It was broken by co-host Sara Haines saying “no” seemingly in agreement and Whoopi doubling down. “No. It's not about race,” she said.
This kicked off a cacophony of crosstalk where Behar and co-host Ana Navarro pushed back by pointing out that the Nazis were targeting the Jews based on race:
[Crosstalk]
BEHAR: They considered Jews a different race.
GOLDBERG: It's not about race. It's not about race.
BEHAR: What is it about?
GOLDBERG: It's about man's inhumanity to man. That's what it's about.
ANA NAVARRO: But it's about white supremacy.
[Crosstalk]
NAVARRO: It’s about going after Jews and Gypsies and Romas.
[Crosstalk]
“But these are two white groups of people,” Whoopi decried back, as the push back seemingly helped Haines grow a spine and to say “They did not see them as white though.”
“But you're missing the point! You're missing the point,” Whoopi raised her voice as she continued to twist the framing of the systemic slaughter of 6 million Jews. “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 are black or white because black, white, Jews, Italians, everybody eats each other.”
While all this was happening, co-host Sunny Hostin sat quietly by and only chimed in to say kids “don't want to be cruel” when Whoopi tried to deflect back to Maus.
After NewsBusters was first on the scene, it took several hours for Whoopi to respond to the growing outrage and calls for her to be canceled for her comments. In a statement on Twitter, Whoopi says she shouldn’t have said the Holocaust “‘is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man.’ I should have said it is about both.”
— Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) February 1, 2022
Citing comments from Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt scolding her, saying “the #Holocaust was about the Nazi’s systematic annihilation of the Jewish people – who they deemed to be an inferior race,” Whoopi attests “I stand corrected.”
Adding, “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. Witten with my sincerest apologies.”
Whoopi’s misinformed and anti-Semitic remarks were made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Humana and Procter & Gamble. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
January 31, 2022
11:14:47 a.m. Eastern(…)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: And a Tennessee school pulled the graphic novel Maus out of their lessons on the Holocaust because it contained some nudity and some bad language.
Personally, I'm shocked because, you know, given the story of Maus. I'm surprised that's what made you uncomfortable, the fact that there was some nudity. And uh, I mean, it's about the Holocaust, the killing of 6 million people, but that didn't bother you? But the naked --
JOY BEHAR: I am not sure they don't use the naked part as kind of a canard to throw you off from the fact that they don’t like history that makes white people look bad.
WHOOPI: Maybe. Well, this is white people doing it to white people. So, this is y'all go fight amongst yourselves, but, you know --
SARA HAINES: And look at what kids watch these days and the music they listen to. To say that when proving or showing them a work of history or art or something that happened is bad language or nudity, turn off reality TV, turn off the radio, turn off everything they’re doing because kids are exposed to this stuff from really early in inappropriate situations, not ones where you’re learning or teaching.
(…)
11:19:09 a.m. Eastern
GOLDBERG: Well also, if we're going to do this, then let's be truthful about it because the Holocaust isn't about race.
HAINES: No.
GOLDBERG: No. It's not about race.
[Crosstalk]
BEHAR: They considered Jews a different race.
GOLDBERG: It's not about race. It's not about race.
BEHAR: What is it about?
GOLDBERG: It's about man's inhumanity to man. That's what it's about.
ANA NAVARRO: But it's about white supremacy.
[Crosstalk]
NAVARRO: It’s about going after Jews and Gypsies and Romas
[Crosstalk]
GOLDBERG: But these are two white groups of people. How do we --
BEHAR: Well, they went after black people too.
HAINES: They did not see them as white though.
GOLDBERG: 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 are black or white because black, white, Jews, Italians, everybody eats each other.
So is it -- if you are uncomfortable if you hear about Maus, should you be worried -- should your child say, oh my god, I wonder if that's me? No. That's not what they're going to say. They're going to say, I don't want to be like that.
BEHAR: Well, hopefully.
SUNNY HOSTIN: I don't want to be cruel.
GOLDBERG: Yeah. Most kids -- most kids they don't want to be cruel.
BEHAR: No, they don't.
NAVARRO: We're living in an era where people are comparing vaccine cards to the yellow stars, where people are comparing vaccinations to what Anne frank went through. So, it is necessary for kids to learn about the Holocaust.
[Crosstalk]
GOLDBERG: To learn about man's inhumanity to man however it exposes itself. I have to cut you off.
BEHAR: I just want to say that Maus was banned and it flew to the top 20 of Amazon’s chart last week.
GOLDBERG: Yes.
BEHAR: The more you ban it the more we want to read it.
