Whoopi Goldberg Under Fire for Comments About the Holocaust on ‘The View’: “She’s Wrong On That One”

The View audiences are nonplussed by some statements about the Holocaust made by Whoopi Goldberg during today’s taping. The moderator, a fan-favorite known for her cool and collected demeanor, earned some backlash today after insisting that the Holocaust “isn’t about race” while discussing the recent news about Maus. Even though her co-hosts tried to correct her statements, it wasn’t enough, leaving the fans to attempt to right her wrongs after all was said and done.

The panel was discussing the recent banning of Maus in schools, suggesting it’s an important book for children to read to understand the history behind the Holocaust, when Goldberg jumped in with a counterargument. While some of the co-hosts seemed to think the larger themes could teach children about racism in America, Goldberg disagreed completely.

“If you’re going to do this, let’s be truthful about it. The Holocaust isn’t about race,” Goldberg began. “It’s not about race.”

While Sara Haines jumped in to agree with the moderator, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro all seemed to be a little confused by Goldberg’s statement. Hostin argued that the Holocaust was “maybe” about ethnicity, but Behar was the one to tear into Goldberg for her sentiments.

“They considered Jews a different race,” she said. After Goldberg persisted, saying again that the Holocaust was not about race, Behar prodded her: “What is it about?”

“It’s about man’s inhumanity to man,” Goldberg asserted. “That’s what it’s about.”

Navarro chimed in: “It’s about white supremacy,” she corrected, going on to list the other groups of people targeted by the Nazis.

“But this is about two groups of white people,” Goldberg continued, now talking over Behar, who said that the Nazis targeted Black people as well. “You’re missing the point. The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley. Let’s talk about it for how it is: it’s how people treat each other. It’s a problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white! Because Black, white, Jews, Italians — everybody eats each other.”

Even though Goldberg had to cut to commercial soon after, fans were enraged by such a dismissive attitude towards race in the Holocaust. While still supporting the moderator, who usually leans towards more progressive ideology, they slammed her for ignoring the role race played in the Holocaust.

“Please Whoopi. Saying the Holocaust was not about race is like saying slavery was not about race,” one user shared. “Being Jewish & African was a key reason for deadly, brutal treatment.”

But some viewers did see the point of Goldberg’s statement, hopping onto social media to defend her. “Whoopi Goldberg’s right,” another Twitter user wrote. “The Holocaust is about inhumanity. Learning about the brutality of the Holocaust isn’t a matter of not being objective or unfair to Nazis. It’s an opportunity to empathize with the victim & not be indifferent to abuse & injustice. Wrong is wrong.”

The View airs weekdays on ABC at 11/10c.

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