Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended by The View for two weeks, ABC News president Kim Godwin announced on Tuesday.
“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” Godwin said.
“While Whoopi has apologised, I’ve 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.”
Goldberg apologised after claiming on Monday’s episode of The View that the Holocaust “is not about race”.
Appearing alongside her hosts Joy Behar, Sara Haines and Ana Navarro, Goldberg was discussing a Tennessee school board’s controversial decision to ban Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis.
After talking about the graphic novel, Goldberg said: “Let’s be truthful about it because the Holocaust isn’t about race. No. It’s not about race!”
She repeatedly tried to prove her point that the Holocaust was about “man’s inhumanity to man” despite her co-hosts interjecting to remind her that Jews in Nazi Germany were considered “a different race”.
“But you’re missing the point! You’re missing the point,” Goldberg insisted, adding, “The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley. Let’s talk about it for what it is. It’s how people treat each other. That’s the problem.”
Appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that same day, Goldberg said it was “never [her intention]” to upset people with her remarks.
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“I thought it was a salient discussion because as a Black person I think of race as being something that I can see. People were very angry and they said ‘no no we are a race,’ and I understand,” she told Colbert.
“People, you know, decided I was all these other things I’m actually not. I’m incredibly torn up by being told these things about myself. And I get it, folks are angry. I accept that and I did it to myself,” she continued. “This was my thought process and I’ll work hard not to think that way again.”
