Whoopi said, ‘Yes, but that’s the killer, isn’t it? The oppressor is telling you what you are. Why are you believing them? They’re Nazis. Why believe what they’re saying? It wasn’t originally [about race]. Remember who they were killing first. They were not killing racial; they were killing physical. They were killing people they considered to be mentally defective. And then they made this decision.’
‘The View’ co-host claimed that it was easier for Nazis to target people of African Descent because they were physically different and went on to suggest that Jews had an easier time hiding from the Nazis as they blended in with white people during the Holocaust.
When reporter told Goldberg that ‘the Nazis measured the heads and noses of Jews to 'prove' they were a distinct race,’ Whoopi replied, ‘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, b*** naked.’
Following her comments, Whoopi Goldberg is facing backlash from Jewish activists and the community. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted, ‘Whoopi Goldberg’s comments about the Holocaust and race are deeply offensive and incredibly ignorant. When she made similar comments earlier this year, we explained how the Nazi regime was inherently racist. Whoopi’s comments show a complete lack of awareness of the multiethnic, multiracial makeup of the Jewish community. She needs to apologise immediately and actually commit to educating herself on the true nature of anti semitism.’
After facing criticism for her comments, Whoopi issued a statement and apologised. She said it was never her intention to appear as if she was ‘doubling down on hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in’. She added that she still believes that the Holocaust was about race, and she’s still as sorry now as she was then that she upset, hurt and angered people.
Whoopi said, ‘In this time of rising antisemitism, I want to be very clear when I say that I always stood with the Jewish people and always will. My support for them has not wavered and never will.’
Earlier this year, Whoopi Goldberg had apologised for her comments on Jews and race on her talk show ‘The View’ that led to her two-week suspension as host of the show.