Things got emotional and heated during ABC’s The View on Wednesday as co-host Whoopi Goldberg raged at the Austin American-Statesman newspaper out of Texas after they published a leaked surveillance video from inside the Uvalde elementary school during the massacre. Yelling at the camera, Goldberg spit at the paper (or at least pretended to) and demanded to know “what the hell” they were thinking by leaving in the sound of gunshots (while also initially leaving in the sounds of crying and screaming children).
Ironically, the Austin American-Statesman did so in conjunction with Austin station KVUE, which -- yes -- is the market's ABC affiliate.
“This story really, really makes me insane,” Goldberg declared leading into the “hot topic.” “Now, many parents of victims are outraged this was released, but the paper is defending their decision.” She then launched into a takedown that ends with her spitting at the paper:
I find it indefensible. I'm sorry. You -- you -- you forgot that attached to all those sounds are people's children. And you didn't have to do this. They were going to see this video on Sunday. You did not have to release this video and leak it. And I think it's appalling and you should be ashamed of yourselves for doing that, for being thoughtless about the parents who have to relive this every day because it's on television. Every time you turn around, you got to see it, you know. And I don't know if you guys over at that newspaper have kids, but shame on you! Shame on -- I know it doesn't mean anything coming from me, but [spits] shame on you!
Co-host Sunny Hostin agreed that the families should have seen the video first (they were set to see the video on Sunday, but the leak came out first). But that gave way to the point that “you have to balance freedom of the press and the need for the public to see certain things and, of course, privacy.”
Hostin praised the video because it busted the police “narrative …that they rushed in and they did all they could do, and they were these heroes. And now we know what really happened, that they were actually cowards in that moment when we needed them.”
She went on to praise “the ubiquitousness of cameras” these days and how they’re “such a great investigative tool.” Goldberg interjected to demand: “Then take the sound out. They didn’t need to leave the gunshots in. What the hell?!”
Journalist and co-host of ABC’s Nightline, Juju Chang sympathized with Goldberg and tried to bridge the divide commending her on her “big” heart, but recalled that the executive editor of the paper “said that he felt we had to bear witness to history. This transparency was primal. And that truth always wins, and the truth will prevail.”
She also pointed to ABC’s apparent policies on what could be considered “gratuitous” use of inflammatory or traumatic video, citing their cut back on the George Floyd video and 9/11 footage:
I will say as a journalist, we've encountered this a lot and there's a lot of range. Whether it's the Kobe Bryant accident and what felt like gratuitous leaks for no purpose, versus, like, the George Floyd tape and how we as a news organization as ABC news decided to limit it after a certain point. I know that you were very vocal on that as well. But even, like, 9/11 and the planes going into the towers. We were very circumspect that we no longer use that video out of respect to the families.
Trying to please the liberals at the table by suggesting she “agree[s] with all perspectives on this,” faux Republican guest co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin credited the “heartbreaking, endless footage of George Floyd” with “the social justice movement” gaining “such a strength in the summer of 2020.”
“It can become gratuitous, but I do think there's something about seeing it that invokes change,” she said, touting the movement that resulted in swaths of American cities being burned to the ground and innocent people being killed.
Nearing the end of the segment, Goldberg did say that she does “appreciate” what the video did to expose the lies of the cowardly cops. But her focus was still on the paper putting it out “without giving [the parents] the opportunity to re-steel themselves.”
She does have a point, but just because the paper put it out doesn’t necessarily mean the parents would see it. For instance, if they see a headline about it the video, they can still avoid it and not click on the video or click away from the content with it.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
July 13, 2022
11:28:54 a.m. EasternWHOOPI GOLDBERG: Welcome back. This story really, really makes me insane. The Austin American-Statesman newspaper just leaked video – that we're not going to show you – of the Uvalde police officers standing down for 77 minutes as the shooter shot 19 students and two teachers. Now, many parents of victims are outraged this was released, but the paper is defending their decision.
I find it indefensible. I'm sorry. You -- you -- you forgot that attached to all those sounds are people's children. And you didn't have to do this. They were going to see this video on Sunday. You did not have to release this video and leak it. And I think it's appalling and you should be ashamed of yourselves for doing that, for being thoughtless about the parents who have to relive this every day because it's on television. Every time you turn around, you got to see it, you know. And I don't know if you guys over at that newspaper have kids, but shame on you. Shame on -- I know it doesn't mean anything coming from me, but [spits] shame on you.
[Applause]
SUNNY HOSTIN: We all had this discussion earlier. I felt differently in the sense that I thought the parents should have been -- should have seen it first, no question, but I also felt that it's, you know, you have to balance freedom of the press and the need for the public to see certain things and of course, privacy.
And I think now, you know, the police had this narrative out there, that they rushed in and they did all they could do, and they were these heroes. And now we know what really happened, that they were actually cowards in that moment when we needed them—
GOLDBERG [interrupting]: Sunny, we knew that when we saw them standing there, fighting the parents trying to get to their kids.
HOSTIN: But the thing is through history we've always had this police narrative, and we didn't have anything to combat it, and now with the ubiquitousness of cameras, now we finally know – like let’s say for example, with black people, they always say, “but I didn't do anything, and, you know, the police beat me up.” Now we know what really happened because of those cameras out there.
[Applause]
JUJU CHANGE: And I will say --
HOSTIN: As a former prosecute it's such a great investigative tool.
GOLDBERG: Then take the sound out. They didn’t need to leave the gunshots in. What the hell?!
HOSTIN: I agree it's such – it’s such a difficult balancing act, but it's so important that we be able to, as the public, be able to – videos in my view lead to just results, increased training, awareness. It can really change the public narrative.
CHANG: I will just say, and your heart is so big, Whoopi, and I know I feel your pain, but I also feel like— The executive editor of the Austin American-Statesman said that he felt we had to bear witness to history. This transparency was primal. And that truth always wins, and the truth will prevail.
I will say as a journalist, we've encountered this a lot and there's a lot of range. Whether it's the Kobe Bryant accident and what felt like gratuitous leaks for no purpose, versus, like, the George Floyd tape and how we as a news organization as ABC news decided to limit it after a certain point. I know that you were very vocal on that as well. But even, like, 9/11 and the planes going into the towers. We were very circumspect that we no longer use that video out of respect to the families.
The problem though is it ends up on social media.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Right.
HOSTIN: Over and over again.
GRIFFIN: I think I tend to agree with Sunny. I kind of agree with all perspectives on this. I’ll say this, when I was at the Department of Defense when we had service members who were kill in action, before we would acknowledge it, ever put out a statement, we notified next of kin. I think this outlet had an obligation to make every attempt to reach the family to tell them they were publishing it sooner.
But I do think that justice does come from seeing these things. I don’t know that the social justice movement that was so, you know, just came to such a strength in the summer of 2020 would’ve if we didn't see that heartbreaking, endless footage of George Floyd. It can become gratuitous, but I do think there's something about seeing it that invokes change.
GOLDBERG: I have to tell you I've watched police officers take lives on video over and over. I've seen it. This is children.
GRIFFIN: Yeah.
HOSTIN: Yeah.
CHANG: Yeah.
GOLDBERG: We know how many kids. We know they were in there, and to see them – we knew they didn't do anything. We knew they didn't run in there. We knew that they were bull – that they were not telling the truth from the giddy-up. We saw it, we knew it. All that I appreciate, but to leak this without telling the parents, without giving them the opportunity to re-steel themselves; because we see the video everywhere all day every day.
HOSTIN: Yeah.
GOLDBERG: For them not to have given them a heads-up – these are real people.
CHANG: With real pain.
GOLDBERG: These are real children that died.
CHANG: With real pain.
GOLDBERG: And I understand everything you're saying, but you said they take the sound out. The bullet – You can still hear the shooting.
HOSTIN: Did it make a difference to you that they took the cries of the children out?
GOLDBERG: No, because they left the gunshots in. We'll be right back.
