Whoopi Goldberg suspended for two weeks over Holocaust comments
Actress and TV presenter will take a break from her talk show 'The View' following 'wrong and hurtful' remarks that the Shoah was 'not about race'
Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from her role as presenter of US talk show The View for two weeks following her “wrong and hurtful comments” about the Holocaust.
Kim Godwin, president of ABC News, said she had asked Goldberg to take time to “reflect and learn about the impact of her comments”.
It follows a backlash after Goldberg said the historic atrocity was not “about race.”
She made the comments on an episode of The View during a discussion about a Tennessee school board’s decision to ban Pulitzer prize-winning Holocaust graphic novel Maus, later apologising for the remarks.
But in a statement posted online on Tuesday, Ms Godwin said: “Effective immediately I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks following her wrong and hurtful comments.
“While Whoopi has apologised, I have asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments.
“The entire ABC News organisation stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”
In the original discussion, Goldberg said: “Let’s be truthful, the Holocaust isn’t about race, it’s not.”
“It’s about man’s inhumanity to man, that’s what it’s about. These are two groups of white people.”
Her words drew heavy criticism online including from Anti-Defamation League (ADL) chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt and StopAntisemitism.org
In her apology Goldberg said: “On today’s show I said the Holocaust ‘is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man’. I should have said it is about both.
“As Jonathan Greenblatt from of the Anti-Defamation League shared, ‘The Holocaust was about the Nazi’s systematic annihilation of the Jewish people – who they deemed to be an inferior race’. I stand corrected.
“The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never (waver). I am sorry for the hurt I have caused.
“Written with my sincerest apologies. Whoopi Goldberg.”
Prior to her suspension, Mr Greenblatt had thanked the presenter for her apology.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
