Whoopi Goldberg's 'The View' Suspension Over Holocaust Remark Leaves Internet Divided

Whoopi Goldberg's suspension from The View has sparked debate, after she said on the show that the Holocaust was not about race but rather "two groups of white people."

The actress and TV personality, 66, issued a statement apologizing for the comments she made during Monday's installment of the ABC daytime talk show, and reiterated her contrition when she returned to her moderator seat on Tuesday.

Late Tuesday, ABC News President Kim Godwin released a statement, in which she announced that Goldberg would not be on the show for the next two weeks, after being asked to "take time to reflect and learn" about her comments.

Godwin said: "Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments. While Whoopi has apologized, I've asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments.

"The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities."

News of Goldberg's suspension sparked debate among the star's supporters and detractors alike, with some supporting the move, others saying the punishment was not necessary, and some demanding she lose her job permanently.

Brigitte Gabriel, founder of anti-Muslim advocacy group ACT for America, was among those who felt that Goldberg's comments should see her ousted from The View.

Taking to Twitter after news broke of Goldberg's suspension, Gabriel wrote: "Whoopi Goldberg shouldn't be suspended, she should be fired."

Alt-right activist Jack Posobiec compared the events to Roseanne Barr's sitcom, Roseanne, being canceled back in 2018, after a comment she made about former Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett that was widely perceived to be racist.

Barr mocked African American attorney Jarrett's appearance, suggesting in a tweet that she looked as though the "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby." While she later apologized and deleted the tweet, her show was removed from the air.

Suggesting a double standard, Posobiec wrote in reaction to Godwin's statement: "Roseanne was fired on the spot for a tweet...by ABC."

Donald Trump-supporting TV personalities Diamond and Silk echoed that sentiment, commenting: "Why didn't they give Rosanne Barr a two week suspension?"

Australian-born author and conservative commentator Nick Adams compared the situation to the backlash Joe Rogan is currently facing, with several musicians withdrawing their music from Spotify in protest of the alleged COVID misinformation shared on his podcast by guests.

"Treat Whoopi Goldberg the same way the Democrats are treating Joe Rogan," wrote Adams, who said in another tweet: "Whoopi Goldberg should be terminated immediately."

Israeli independent political strategist David Ha'ivri called for Goldberg to not only lose her job at The View, but also be removed from all public platforms.

"I see some people posting about their feeling uncomfortable with #WhoopiGoldberg getting suspended for 2 weeks," he said. "I don't feel that way. IMO she should removed from any public platform indefinitely."

Standing on the other side of the debate, author and New York magazine columnist Mark Harris said that the moment should have been used as an opportunity to "educate people" about the Holocaust.

The Holocaust, which took place during World War II, saw the state-sponsored murder of 6 million Jews by Nazis, who believed themselves to be part of a superior "Aryan" race.

"This is performative and unnecessary," Harris tweeted of Goldberg's suspension. "This could have been used as a valuable opportunity to educate people about the Holocaust. That's worth a lot more than the chance to spank a celeb."

Sharing that point of view, writer Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll stated that an opportunity to educate people about the Holocaust had been missed.

She wrote: "Instead of suspending @WhoopiGoldberg @ABCNetwork shld have made an educational moment & talked about how Nazis labeled Jews an inferior race, measured our faces, labeled & persecuted us. In fact, they could have discussed Maus. Cancel culture doesn't educate. It breeds ignorance."

The Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali shared his belief that ABC's move would "backfire" on the network, whom he accused of caving to "attacks orchestrated by the right."

"This Whoopi Goldberg suspension is dumb and will backfire on ABC, who, again, caved to bad faith attacks orchestrated by the right, who care so much about anti semitism that they gleefully promote anti semitic conspiracies and support Gosar, Green, Tucker and Trump. Absurd," Ali said.

Lawyer and Republican Party official Harmeet Dhillon shared that while she is not a fan of Goldberg, she felt that the TV personality's suspension should have sufficed.

"Whoopi says dumb stuff all the time and I handle that by not watching her," Dhillon shared. "She apologized, and I don't think she should have been cancelled."

Ultimately, said music and culture journalist Eve Barlow—who describes herself as a Zionist and has written for New York magazine, The Guardian, and the Los Angeles Times—it was wholly ABC's decision to make the call.

"Whoopi Goldberg has not lost her job. She has not been cancelled. This is not an attempt at silencing her," tweeted Barlow. "It's a means of taking stock of the mishandling of an error that has consequences beyond Whoopi. She platformed her mistakes on two TV shows. She represents ABC. Their call."

Goldberg's comments were made while the show's panel discussed a Tennessee school board's recent decision to ban the graphic novel Maus, which covers the Holocaust. The board cited nudity and profanity as the reasons for the ban.

She said on The View: "I'm surprised that's what made you uncomfortable, the fact that there was some nudity. I mean, it's about the Holocaust, the killing of six million people, but that didn't bother you? If you're going to do this, then let's be truthful about it. Because the Holocaust isn't about race. No, it's not about race."

The screen star went on to say that the Holocaust was "about man's inhumanity to other man," adding in response to co-host Ana Navarro's counter that it was about white supremacy: "But these are two white groups of people."

Co-host Sara Haines then noted that the Nazis didn't see Jewish people as white.

Goldberg responded: "But you're missing the point! 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. It's a problem."

In a statement shared on Twitter on Monday, Goldberg—who joined The View in 2007—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 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 waiver. I'm sorry for the hurt I have caused.

"Written with my sincerest apologies, Whoopi Goldberg."