Whoopi Goldberg Restates Controversial Holocaust Stance That Got Her Suspended From 'The View'

Whoopi Goldberg has made it clear that her opinions will not be easily disregarded. The iconic actress recently doubled down on her statements about the Holocaust, saying that it was never about race. She re-emphasized that the terrible event was about the Nazis killing people they considered lesser and mentally defective.

Goldberg also questioned the idea that Jewish people form a race, comparing them to herself as a Black person. Her statements are widely considered anti-Semitic as they contradict the position of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Goldberg first made the comments in January this year while discussing the ban on the graphic novel "Maus" by Art Spiegelman.

The comments sparked a controversy on social media, which led to the actress issuing an apology statement to all Jewish people. The day after, Goldberg was suspended from her position as co-host on "The View" for two weeks. Upon her return, she reiterated that the talk show would continue having the necessary "tough conversations." 

Read on to find out more.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Goldberg spoke about being canceled in the new social media age and why she's still so outspoken at 67 years old. During the interview, the actress spoke about the Holocaust again, restating her views on the genocide that killed millions.

She explained that the Holocaust was never "originally" about race. Goldberg said, "Remember who they were killing first. They were not killing racial; they were killing the physical. They were killing people they considered to be mentally defective. And then they made this decision."

Goldberg also questioned the idea that Jewish people are a "race" in comparison to herself as a Black person. She said per Insider, "It doesn't change the fact that you could not tell a Jew on a street. You could find me. You couldn't find them. That was the point I was making. But you would have thought that I'd taken a big old stinky dump on the table, butt naked."

Her statements contradict the position of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which stated that the Nazis defined all Jewish people as part of the Jewish race and killed millions of them to purge them from the world. It's a position held by millions of Jews worldwide, who'd consider Goldberg's statements as anti-Semitic.

When the interviewer mentioned that the Nazis considered Jewish people a race, Goldberg responded by saying, "The oppressor is telling you what you are. Why are you believing them? They're Nazis. Why believe what they're saying?"

Goldberg first made her comments about the Holocaust during an episode of "The View" on January 31st. She and the co-hosts were discussing the Tennessee school board's ban on the graphic novel "Maus" by Art Spiegelman, which details the events and impact of the Holocaust.

Spiegelman used animated mice to depict the genocide and the school board justified the ban by citing the "unnecessary use of profanity and nudity." Speaking on the Holocaust, Goldberg then said it was never about race but about "man's inhumanity to man." She said it was simply "white people doing it to white people."

The "Sister Act" star also said, "If you're going to do this, let's be truthful about it because the Holocaust isn't about race. No, It's not about race! It's about man's inhumanity to man. That's what it's about."

Goldberg's initial comments ignited a severe controversy, which led to her being heavily criticized on social media. The actress subsequently issued a statement apologizing to Jewish people for her statements, which were branded anti-Semitic.

Via Insider, the statement read, "I'm sorry for the hurt I have caused. 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 day after her apology statement, ABC News president, Kim Godwin, announced that Goldberg was suspended from "The View" for two weeks. The actress returned after the suspension and resumed her post by saying that the show would continue having "tough conversations."