Los Angles, Feb 2: American actor, comedian and television personality Whoopi Goldberg has apologized after saying the Holocaust “isn’t about race” that met with fierce backlash. Goldberg’s apology came a day after she was heard making the “unacceptable” comments on Monday’s episode of ‘The View’.
She went on to offer her “sincerest apologies” for any hurt and offence she caused. In a segment of the show she said: “Let’s be truthful about it because Holocaust isn’t about race. It’s not about race. It’s not about race. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man…
“These are two white groups of people! The minute you turn it into race it goes down this alley. Let’s talk about it for what it is. “It’s how people treat each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white, Jews, it’s each other.”
The 66-year-old Oscar-winner, who has been on The View since 2007, made the controversial statement while discussing a Tennessee school board’s ban of the Pulitzer prize-winning graphic novel ‘Maus: A Survivor’s Tale’ about Nazi death camps during World War2.
The novel depicts the story of how the author’s parents survived Auschwitz during the Holocaust. The graphic was banned on the grounds that it showed nudity, profanity and suicide. In a statement shared on social media, Whoopi issued her apology saying she “stands corrected”.
She wrote: “On today’s show, I said the Holocaust ‘is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man’. I should have said it is about both. She added “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 Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waiver. I’m sorry for the hurt I have caused. Written with my sincerest apologies, Whoopi Goldberg.”
Following her comments, people took to social media to slam Whoopi. David Harris – the CEO of the American Jewish Committee – urging her to “rethink” and apologize, tweeted: “Whoopi Goldberg absurdly claims the #Holocaust ‘isn’t about race.’ Nazi Germany considered all Jews a ‘subhuman race.’ “That’s why they wanted to exterminate the entire Jewish people, including my family, & almost succeeded. Please rethink & apologize. (sic)” “Newsflash @WhoopiGoldberg 6 million of us were gassed, starved and massacred because we were deemed an inferior race by the Nazis. How dare you minimize our trauma and suffering!” Stop Antisemitism.org tweeted. Israeli writer Hen Mazzig wrote “Being Jewish means watching white nationalists call for your death because you’re ‘not white’ while ladies on national TV say the Holocaust was ‘white people killing white people…y’all go fight amongst yourselves.’” Following both her comments and subsequent apology ABC News has suspended the talk show’s co-host for two weeks.
“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” said ABC News president Kim Godwin in an official statement announcing the suspension. She further added “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.”
