Whoopi Goldberg & 'The View' Weigh In On Will Smith: 'He Snapped'

Actress Whoopi Goldberg is no stranger to controversy after being “canceled” earlier this year for comments that she made about the Holocaust on “The View.”

However, what Whoopi said is a distant memory compared to what happened last night at the 94th Academy Awards. Chris Rock made a “G.I. Jane” joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who struggles with alopecia – an autoimmune disease that causes her to lose her hair. Smith yelled “Keep my wife’s name out of your f---ing mouth” and walked on stage to slap Rock.

Only a few minutes later, Smith walked on stage to accept his first-ever Academy Award and tearfully apologized to the Academy and other nominees – but not to Rock. Although Diddy has said that Smith and Rock have since made peace at an afterparty, everyone seemed to be talking about the shocking event on Monday morning, including those at “the View.”

Although some fans have said that Will Smith was well within his rights to slap Rock and defend his wife, Whoopi said that it was just an example of toxic masculinity on “The View” Monday morning.

The former Oscar host said that the “Kind Richard” actor was displaying “toxic masculinity,” calling it “not a show of love [but] a show of violence.”

“I think it was a lot of stuff probably built up,” Goldberg added, referring to the fact that Chris Rock has previously made fun of Jada’s condition in the past. She said that she thought Will “overreacted” adding, “I think he had one of those moments where it was like G.D. it, just stop.”

“I get it, not everybody acts the way we would like them to act under pressure,” she added. “And he snapped.”

“Sometimes you get to a point when you behave badly,” Goldberg said, admitting, “I myself have behaved badly on occasion.”

Joy Behar was also shocked to see Smith’s behavior and noted that this might start a disturbing trend of violence towards comedians.

“I was thinking comedians are in danger everywhere,” she said on Monday. “They want us to be edgy, to go out there and say what everyone’s thinking… and then they get mad.”

She gave Will Smith some advice, saying, “If you’re upset about something, walk off.” This message has been echoed by other fans, who said that it would have been better if Smith and Jada had simply taken the high road and gotten up and left the room.

Goldberg added, “I do think it’s wonderful that Chris did not take it to that other place that he could have done.” Rock continued to present after the slap and the LAPD confirmed that Rock declined to press charges against Smith. However, it is possible that he could still do so in the future.

“Hitting somebody is a crime, a crime of assault,” Navarro said. Although she agreed that Rock’s “joke” was “lame” and “in very poor taste,” she said the joke and Smith’s reaction “were not equivalent.”

“Jada has alopecia and that’s why she shaved her head,” Navarro explained for those at home who may not know. “She’s been very public about it, very vulnerable about it, but nothing, nada condones violence at this point. Nada.”

“I was embarrassed for Will, I was horrified for Chris Rock,” Hostin added. “I thought Chris was the one who deserved an apology.” She said that Rock took “the high road” by continuing the show and called Will Smith “immature.”

“I think he was childish and he was violent,” she added. “That’s something we tell our children not to do, our children would be suspended from school for that.”

She added that she was also surprised that they let Will Smith on stage to receive his Oscar, and even more surprised that he received a standing ovation.

“I’m surprised he was not escorted out,” she said, wondering if the Academy was going to take back the Oscar.

“We’re not going to take that Oscar from him,” Goldberg responded. “There will be consequences I’m sure, but I don’t think that’s what they’re going to do, particularly because Chris said ‘Listen, I’m not pressing any charges.'”

Fans can watch the full segment below.