NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 16: Academy Governor Whoopi Goldberg speaks onstage during the Academy Museum ... [+]
On Tuesday, The View co-host and comedian Whoopi Goldberg was given a two week suspension for comments she made on the program on Monday about the Holocaust. During a debate, Goldberg had stated that the Holocaust – which had resulted in the deaths of at least six million Jewish men, women and children – was not actually about race and rather was about "man's inhumanity to man."
After facing a significant backlash for those comments, during which Goldberg was told that the Nazi regime had in fact seen the Jews as an inferior race, the co-host apologized – multiple times.
She issued an apology Monday night via Twitter, and then reiterated that apology on Tuesday's broadcast of The View when she appeared alongside Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who explained that the Holocaust was most certainly about race.
However, despite the apologies, Goldberg's suspension was announced by ABC following Tuesday’s broadcast.
Too Little Punishment
There were many commentators on social media on Tuesday and Wednesday who felt the two week suspension didn't go far enough, especially as other high-profile celebrities had faced far more severe punishment for sharing their opinions on similar issues.
Author Brigitte Gabriel (ACTBrigette) was among those who noted that Rosanne Barr and Gina Carano had each been fired for past comments. Gabriel tweeted, "Roseanne: Fired over a tweet. Gina Carano: Fired over an Instagram post. Whoopi Goldberg: makes racist/anti-Semitic statements about the Holocaust and gets a slap on the wrist. Liberal privilege is real!"
"Gina Carano was run out of Hollywood for comparing Covid restrictions to the social stratification imposed by Nazis. Whoopi Goldberg said the Holocaust wasn't about race and got a two-week break," posted writer Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons).
Eric July (EricDJuly), host of the "For Canon Sake" podcast, tweeted, "ABC suspends Whoopi Goldberg from The View for 2 weeks following the backlash from her saying 'the Holocaust wasn't about race.' Gina Carano makes satirical commentary on Twitter, 'Two weeks to slow the double standard.' Full clip is LIVE on YouTube!"
"Keep in mind — Gina Carano lost her job after she dared post a picture showing what was really happening in pre WWII Germany to Jews. Neighbor turned against neighbor. She was warning of that happening here. Nothing she said nor posted was anti-Semitic. What Whoopi said was," wrote syndicated talk show host Joe Pags Pagliarulo (@JoeTalkShow).
"Whoopi Goldberg Said WHAT!? About the Holocaust?! She says some ignorant, racist thing on TV, Reads a forced apology & all is well... but Roseanne, Gina Carano & Sharon Osbourne get CANCELLED. And folks pretend like there is no Liberal bias in Hollywood," noted Andy Signore (@andysignore), co-creator of Honest Trailers.
Unnecessary Punishment
There have been many comments on social media – including from noted conservative voices – that argued that the suspension of Goldberg wasn't even necessary, given that she had apologized and admitted she was wrong on the issue.
"With pay? Without pay? Who cares? This smells like cancel culture, or at least some dank hypocrisy at ABC, and a cheap way to deflect attention from the real problem. Whatevs: ABC sends Whoopi on vacation for a fortnight," wrote conservative author Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey).
Former Illinois Republican Congressman William Walsh (@WalshFreedom), posted ".@WhoopiGoldberg did nothing wrong. She expressed an opinion that was uninformed. She then got informed. And she apologized. @abcnews you suck for suspending her. A suspension??? What a stupid, timid world we live in."
"Whoopi said something dumb, she understood why it was dumb, she apologized. Who does a suspension help and how? Executives just seem poised to feed a lust for punishment even when nobody is lusting," suggested author Josh Barro (@jbarro), host of the "Very Serious" podcast.
Talk radio host Jason Rantz (@jasonrantz) was even more direct, "The timing of the Whoopi Goldberg suspension… doesn't make sense. And if she's already apologized, why take her off air? If she said something fireable then fire her. If not, what's the point here?"
The final takeaway is that this issue may have actually resulted in real dialog about the way that some individuals are too easily canceled, while others are more easily forgiven for comments they probably wish they hadn't made.
