Whoopi Goldberg clarified her remarks about race and the Holocaust, issuing anapology on Tuesday for reigniting the controversy in a recent interview.
Goldberg was suspended from The View earlier this year when she declared theHolocaust was “not about race,” but about “white supremacy” and “man’sinhumanity to man.” The Oscar winner captured headlines over the weekend asshe seemingly tripled down on her stance speaking with The Sunday Times _._However, Goldberg insists that’s with what she meant.
“Recently while doing press in London, I was asked about my comments fromearlier this year. I tried to convey to the reporter what I had said and why,and attempted to recount that time,” she says in a statement to YahooEntertainment. “It was never my intention to appear as if I was doubling downon hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people likerabbis and old and new friends weighing in. I’m still learning a lot andbelieve me, I heard everything everyone said to me.”
Goldberg continues: “I believe that the Holocaust was about race, and I amstill as sorry now as I was then that I upset, hurt and angered people. Mysincere apologies again, especially to everyone who thought this was a freshrehash of the subject. I promise it was not. In this time of rising anti-Semitism, I want to be very clear when I say that I always stood with theJewish people and always will. My support for them has not wavered and neverwill.”
The actress first drew criticism on a Jan. 31 episode or The View when shesaid the Holocaust was not about race. In an attempt to do damage control thefollowing day on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert , Goldberg essentiallydoubled down on her stance. She was suspended from the ABC talk show for twoweeks.
While promoting Till in London, Goldberg opened up about the scandal.
“My best friend said, ‘Not for nothing is there no box on the census for theJewish race. So that leads me to believe that we’re probably not a race,'” sheexplained in the interview, which was published during Hanukkah .
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When the interviewer noted how the Nazis made racial laws aimed specificallyat Jews, Goldberg said the Holocaust “wasn’t originally” about race.
“Remember who they were killing first. They were not killing racial; they werekilling physical. They were killing people they considered to be mentallydefective. And then they made this decision,” she stated.
Goldberg was confronted with the fact Nazis measured the heads and noses ofJewish people to “prove” they were a distinct race.
“They did that to Black people, too. But it doesn’t change the fact that youcould 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 abig old stinky dump on the table, butt naked,” she replied.
The interviewer for The Sunday Times wrote that Goldberg “even now does notunderstand why her remarks offended. She insists Jewish people themselves aredivided about whether they are a race or a religion.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League who spoke withGoldberg amid backlash earlier this year, condemned her comments after theinterview was published.
“Whoopi Goldberg’s comments about the Holocaust and race are deeply offensiveand incredibly disappointing, especially given that this is not the first timeshe had made remarks like this,” he said in a statement. “In a moment whenantisemitic incidents have surged across the US, she should realize thatmaking such ignorant statements can have real consequences.”
Greenblatt called on Goldberg to address her comments and issue a mea culpa:”Whoopi needs to apologize to the Jewish community immediately and actuallycommit to educating herself on the true nature of antisemitism and how it wasthe driving force behind the systemic slaughter of millions. She shouldn’t doit for the ratings — she should do it simply because it’s the right thing todo. Failure to address the issue would raise serious questions about hersincerity and solidarity with her Jewish viewers and all those who experiencehate.”
MORE: Whoopi Goldberg draws backlash (again) for Holocaust comments