ABC suspends Whoopi Goldberg from ‘The View’ for Holocaust comments

Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from her role as co-host of ABC’s popular “The View” talk show after an uproar over her comments in which she said the Holocaust was “not about race,” the network said Tuesday night.

“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” ABC News president Kim Godwin said in a statement.

“While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments,” Godwin said. “The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”

Hours before the announcement, the Page Six entertainment news site quoted ABC sources as saying that there was mounting anger at ABC and at parent company Disney that Goldberg has not been disciplined.
 

“ABC staffers and Disney Network execs are saying Whoopi went way too far. And board members are not happy with her apology and want a fuller retraction. The word is that Whoopi is in ‘deep shit,’” the source told Page Six, adding that several of her co-hosts were among those saying Goldberg was now “too controversial now for the show.”

Goldberg apologized on Monday for saying the Holocaust was not about race, comments that sparked a firestorm of controversy, but not before appearing to double down on the statement in another interview.

On Monday morning, she made the initial comments on “The View” program.

“The Holocaust isn’t about race,” but rather about “man’s inhumanity to man,” she said. The statement drew condemnations from Jewish groups including the Auschwitz Memorial and the Anti-Defamation League.