Whoopi’s back, and she hasn’t learned anything By Ethel C. Fenig
After a highly publicized two-week pinch-on-the-wrist suspension for displaying her ignorance, trivializing and distorting the Shoah, (Holocaust) on the chick chat show, The View, Caryn Elaine Johnson, AKA Whoopi Goldberg, returned to a highly publicized, rousing welcome from her like-minded co-hosts.
Emerging from her exile for a highly publicized non-apology apology on Stephen Colbert’s lefty gabfest, Johnson/Goldberg confirmed she still hasn’t learned anything. And neither have the other Viewettes, who criticized their bosses for their closed-mindedness toward their pal Goldberg.
In all fairness, you can’t blame this sorry crew’s puzzled reaction — after all, Goldberg’s highly publicized, non–politically correct, equally repulsive pronunciamentos on race, religion, and sex issues never caused trouble. Indeed, they have only enhanced her reputation over the years.
Specifically, many people are looking back on Goldberg’s defense of her friend, actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson, on The View in 2010, following his racist and antisemitic comments about Black and Jewish people — including an audio recording of the actor saying that he hoped his then-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, was “raped by a pack of n——.”
“I don’t like what he did here,” she said on the show. “But I know Mel and I know he’s not a racist. He may be a bonehead. I can’t sit and say that he’s a racist, having spent time with him in my house with my kids.” (snip)
We all remember or have read about Goldberg’s infamous 1993 roast held at the Friars Club where her boyfriend at the time, Ted Danson, performed in blackface and said a slew of N-words and racist jokes. Goldberg ardently defended the routine and admitted to writing some of it, telling the press that she has “never been about political correctness.” She’s proved as much throughout her almost 15-year tenure on The View, defending former Ravens football player Ray Rice after he was caught on video violently assaulting his then-girlfriend, saying director Roman Polanski’s rape of a 13-year-old girl “wasn’t rape-rape,” and refusing to condemn Bill Cosby during most his sexual-assault allegations saga.
Ah, now Goldberg’s puzzlement at the negative publicity over her recent rantings is at least minimally understandable. However, contrast the reaction and subsequent punishment to Goldberg’s offensive, at best, opinions with similar incidents from other once prominent female gabbers.
Less than a year ago, Sharon Osbourne was fired for mere allegations plus some intense discussions
after controversy over an on-air confrontation between Osbourne and one of her co-hosts, as well as allegations that she had made racist and homophobic remarks about her colleagues in the past.
“The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home. As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon’s behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace,” CBS said in a statement released to CNN. “We also did not find any evidence that CBS executives orchestrated the discussion or blindsided any of the hosts.”
In another tempest, over three years ago, ABC bade a not so fond farewell to Roseanne Barr in response to her allegedly racist tweet about President Obama’s advisor, Valerie Jarrett: “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.”
Although Osbourne and Barr also apologized, even more sincerely than Goldberg, they are gone and haven’t been much heard from since. You win some, you lose some.
Hmmm…wonder why…
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