Whoopi Goldberg Scandal: ABC Staffers Furious at Network for not Firing Whoopi

EXCLUSIVE: ABC News staffers are furious at the network for not firing Whoppi Goldberg after she claimed that the Holocaust 'wasn't about race' – as #FireWhoopi hashtag spreads

By MAILONLINE REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 16:07 EST, 1 February 2022 | UPDATED: 16:07 EST, 1 February 2022

 
 
 
 
 
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ABC News staffers are furious at the network for not firing Whoopi Goldberg after she claimed that the Holocaust wasn't about race, with some accusing the network of having an anti-Semitic 'blind spot'.

Whoopi, 66, made the controversial comments on The View on Monday. She referred to Jews and Nazis as 'two groups of white people' and said that because they were both white, it was about 'inhumanity' and not race'. Her remarks sparked immediate international backlash, with everyone from the Israeli Consular General in New York to the Auschwitz Memorial and Antidefamation League taking offense. ABC has refused to comment on the scandal.

Whoopi posted an apology on Twitter last night, saying the Holocaust was about 'both' race and inhumanity. On Tuesday, she made an on-air apology, then interviewed the CEO of The Anti-Defamation League, before moving on to other topics with her co-hosts.

Ahead of The View's show on Tuesday, a senior ABC News source told DailyMail.com that staff are stunned by the network's soft touch on her remarks, especially when it was so quick to fire Roseanne Barr over racist comments towards Valerie Jarrett. 'These comments are absolutely abhorrent and outrageous, and it’s time Disney and ABC grew a pair and fired her,' the source said. 'Disney took swift action and fired Roseanne Barr when she posted the awful tweet about Valerie Jarrett, yet Whoopi made her vile comments on ABC’s air and they do nothing about it? Where is the leadership from within Disney?'

'[Disney content chairman] Peter Rice (pictured) needs to step up and do his job and fire Whoopi. How is this appropriate at all? What message do we send as a company? Why is there one rule for Whoopi Goldberg – who gets a pass on everything and another rule for everyone else?' said the source. ‘There is a blind spot on The View when it comes to anti-Semitism. It is never a big enough hate crime for them.'

They added that the comment on Monday was only the latest in a string of inflammatory claims made by Whoopi, who previously defended Bill Cosby on the show. 'We were all outraged when Whoopi was defending Bill Cosby and ABC had to bring [legal analyst] Dan Abrams on the show to help her understand that her views surrounding Cosby were extremely problematic. This was after fifty women, FIFTY, had come forward with serious allegations about him.' The source continued: 'People are livid within the news division as it completely undermines our credibility.' 

After apologizing, Whoopi introduced the panel's guest, Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, to help 'continue the conversation'.

The source also alleged that former host Meghan McCain previously pitched the victim of a Jewish hate crime as a guest on the show but that she was told to conduct the interview for online only.

Among those who fumed over Goldberg being allowed to stay on the show was Piers Morgan. 'Sharon Osbourne was fired from The Talk for defending me against a fake charge of racism. Whoopi Goldberg said on The View yesterday that the Holocaust ‘wasn’t about race’, which for Jewish people is about as racist a comment as anyone could make,' Piers tweeted. 'Bet she doesn’t lose her job,' he said.

Osborne was fired from The Talk, a CBS show, for defending Morgan against allegations he was racist because he did not believe everything the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, said.

Others have compared Whoopi's situation to that of Joe Rogan, the Spotify podcast host who was admonished by musicians because he hosted anti-vax opinions on his show.

Spotify is standing by him and adding a content advisory warning to his shows, ignoring the demands of musicians like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young who threatened to pull their music off the streaming site because they disagreed with Rogan.

Rogan has never disclosed his vaccination status. It's unclear if he is pro or against it, but the very fact he was giving a platform to the topic of anti-vaxxing was enough, they said, to constitute disinformation.

On Monday night, Goldberg went on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to double down on her comments about The Holocaust not being racist, but she changed her tune by the next day.

On Tuesday, Whoopi returned to The View and kicked off the show with an on-air apology. 'Yesterday on our show, I misspoke. I tweeted about it last night, but I kind of want you to hear it from me directly. I feel a responsibility. My words upset so many people, which was never my intention. I understand why. The information I got was really helpful.'

She continued: 'I said the Holocaust wasn't about race and was instead about man's inhumanity to man. It is indeed about race because Hitler and the Nazis considered Jews to be the inferior race. Words matter and mine are no exception. I regret my comments and I stand corrected.'

She then went on to interview Mr Greenblatt, who spoke generally about anti-Semitism and why it is still a threat, before cutting to a commercial. Then, after the break, they resumed the 'hot topics' of the day, including Rihanna's pregnancy.

Whoopi's co-hosts have not yet publicly commented on her remarks.