Whoopi Goldberg
The American channel ABC has suspended actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for making statements about the Holocaust. That’s why she can’t be seen in talk show The Viewof which she is one of the presenters.
In a discussion with her co-hosts about the Holocaust, 66-year-old Goldberg said yesterday that it was not a race issue. “This is what white people have done to other white people,” she said.
She came under fire from various Jewish organizations for this statement. “No, Whoopi Goldberg, the Holocaust was about Nazis who massacred Jewish people they believed to be of an inferior race,” said a spokesman for one of those organizations.
Apologies not enough
Goldberg made her sorry for the comment. “On the show, I said the Holocaust wasn’t about race, it was about how people can be inhumane to other people. I should have said it’s about both,” she said. Despite her apologies, the head of ABC decided to suspend Goldberg.
“I asked her to take time for herself and reflect on and learn from the impact of her statements,” ABC CEO Kim Godwin said of that decision. “The entire ABC news organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”
Goldberg, whose real name is Caryn Johnson, gained her fame with roles in numerous films and series. For her supporting role in the film Ghost she won an Oscar in 1990. She was previously nominated for the most prestigious film award in 1985 for her lead role in The Color Purple.
