Whoopi Goldberg Suspended From ‘The View’ Following Holocaust Comments

The co-host will be out for two weeks due to controversial remarks on Monday’s show

Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from The View for two weeks following her controversial comments about the Holocaust, ABC confirmed in a statement on Tuesday evening.

“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” said Kim Godwin, President of ABC News. “While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”

On Monday’s episode of The View, Goldberg, 66, claimed that the Holocaust was “not about race” and was instead an example of “man’s inhumanity to man.” She was talking with fellow co-hosts Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro about a Tennessee school district’s removal of the graphic novel “Maus,” about the Holocaust, from its curriculum.

“This is white people doing it to white people,” she added, “so y’all going to fight amongst yourselves.”

There was a fierce backlash to Goldberg’s remarks, especially in light of recent attacks against the Jewish community.

Later on Monday, Goldberg appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where she attempted to walk back her comments, telling Colbert, “It upset a lot of people which was never, ever, ever, ever my intention.”

Goldberg explained that, as a Black woman, her perception of race is based on skin color. “I think of race as being something that I can see,” she said, acknowledging that she now realizes people feel “very differently.” “So, I see you and I know what race you are. And the discussion [on ‘The View’] was how I felt about that.”

Goldberg shared a written apology on Twitter before addressing her words on The View Tuesday.

“Yesterday on our show, I misspoke,” she said on-air. “I tweeted about it last night but I want you to hear it from me directly. I said something that I feel a responsibility for not leaving unexamined, because my words upset so many people, which was never my intention. I understand why now, and for that I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful, and it helped me understand some different things.”

Goldberg is set to return to her hosting seat in two weeks.