Perspectives on Whoopi Goldberg’s comments on the Holocaust
~ 7 minutes read
This week, debates about antisemitism and cancel culture emerged after Whoopi Goldberg stated that the “Holocaust isn’t about race” on The View.
January 31, episode aired at 11am ET: Whoopi Goldberg states, during an episode of The View, that the “Holocaust isn’t about race.”
January 31, 8:15pm ET: Whoopi Goldberg tweets an apology for her comments about the Holocaust.
January 31, episode aired at 11:35pm ET: Whoopi Goldberg appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, clarifying her statement.
February 1, 9:30pm ET: Whoopi Goldberg is suspended from ABC News for two weeks.
Below, we break down how the left and right view this event based on the information and values they use to interpret it. We are not trying to change anyone’s mind, but are trying to create greater clarity of why we disagree by breaking down each side’s perspective.
NOTE: THIS ANALYSIS PRESENTS TWO OPPOSING PERSPECTIVES AS EXAMPLES FOR HOW PEOPLE MAY REACH DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE SAME TOPIC BASED ON THEIR PRIOR VALUES AND WORLDVIEWS. YOUR VIEW MAY DIFFER.
What does each side see as fact?
To the left…
- Goldberg apologized multiple times.
- She’s facing consequences for her words and learning from her mistake.
- Megan McCain regularly made problematic statements but was never suspended from The View.
To the right…
- Goldberg downplayed the minority status of Jewish people to justify antisemitism — which is racism.
- Hilter was clear that he viewed the Jewish people as a race, so to say the Holocaust wasn’t about race is to erase the horror.
- People on the right face harsh consequences when misspeaking, but people on the left are quickly forgiven.
The Narrative
To the left, Goldberg’s words were not acceptable, but her apology is. She made a clear effort to listen and learn about why her words were wrong, so we should move on.
- To some on the left, a two week suspension from The View is a fair consequence for her words.
- To others on the left, a two week suspension is too harsh given her sincere apology. People are interpreting her words in bad faith.
To the right, Goldberg’s words were either racist or enabling racism.
- To some on the right, she should be fired for erasing the racist horrors of the Holocaust.
- To others on the right, people shouldn’t be fired or suspended over poorly worded statements or controversial views. Free speech should be respected no matter what side it comes from, and problematic speech should be countered with better ideas, not censorship.
How could a reasonable person come to think this?
Deeply appreciate @WhoopiGoldberg inviting me on to @TheView today to have an important discussion on the importance of educating about the Holocaust. Whoopi has been a long-time ally of the Jewish community and @ADL and her apology is very much welcome. https://t.co/0lCLSgM9vO
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) February 1, 2022
Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended by The View following her controversial comments about the Holocaust when she said ‘it was not about race’@Baddiel tells @susannareid100 and @adilray that Goldberg’s comments reveal ‘a lot about the confusions people have around anti-semitism’ pic.twitter.com/63VR5SV9BD
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 2, 2022
What does each side see as fact?
To the left…
- Goldberg apologized multiple times.
- She’s facing consequences for her words and learning from her mistake.
- Megan McCain regularly made problematic statements but was never suspended from The View.
To the right…
- Goldberg downplayed the minority status of Jewish people to justify antisemitism — which is racism.
- Hilter was clear that he viewed the Jewish people as a race, so to say the Holocaust wasn’t about race is to erase the horror.
- People on the right face harsh consequences when misspeaking, but people on the left are quickly forgiven.
The Narrative
To the left, Goldberg’s words were not acceptable, but her apology is. She made a clear effort to listen and learn about why her words were wrong, so we should move on.
- To some on the left, a two week suspension from The View is a fair consequence for her words.
- To others on the left, a two week suspension is too harsh given her sincere apology. People are interpreting her words in bad faith.
To the right, Goldberg’s words were either racist or enabling racism.
- To some on the right, she should be fired for erasing the racist horrors of the Holocaust.
- To others on the right, people shouldn’t be fired or suspended over poorly worded statements or controversial views. Free speech should be respected no matter what side it comes from, and problematic speech should be countered with better ideas, not censorship.
How could a reasonable person come to believe this?
Deeply appreciate @WhoopiGoldberg inviting me on to @TheView today to have an important discussion on the importance of educating about the Holocaust. Whoopi has been a long-time ally of the Jewish community and @ADL and her apology is very much welcome. https://t.co/0lCLSgM9vO
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) February 1, 2022
Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended by The View following her controversial comments about the Holocaust when she said ‘it was not about race’@Baddiel tells @susannareid100 and @adilray that Goldberg’s comments reveal ‘a lot about the confusions people have around anti-semitism’ pic.twitter.com/63VR5SV9BD
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 2, 2022
Identifying a sincere apology is tough — especially when it comes to public missteps. It requires trust that the person apologizing truly means what they say, and that trust must often be earned over time.
- To the left, Goldberg has a strong track record in standing up for what is right.
- To the right, Goldberg has a track record of expressing views the right strongly disagrees with and taking their words in bad faith.
Within each of these contexts, it makes sense that different people are more or less willing to believe Goldberg’s apology or interpret her words differently.
