With Tara Setmayer, a former GOP communications director on Capitol Hill sitting in Wednesday as guest co-host for a second day this week, Whoopi Goldberg s colleagues on “The View” had virtually nothing to say about her two-week suspension for her comments on Jews and the Holocaust.
At the top of the ABC talk show, co-host Joy Behar noted Goldberg's absence and said simply, with a tiny head tilt, “OK,” before moving on to other topics. The show went on with four co-hosts.
Goldberg's suspension was announced by ABC News President Kim Godwin on Tuesday, the day after Goldberg said during a discussion of a Tennessee school board's banning of the book “Maus” that the Holocaust was “not about race ... it’s about man’s inhumanity to other man.”
She apologized hours later and again on air Tuesday, but not before her words rallied critics and defenders alike.
“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,” Godwin said in a statement.
Goldberg's remarks saying race was not a factor in the Holocaust drew condemnation from several prominent Jewish leaders.
“My words upset so many people, which was never my intention,” Goldberg said Tuesday morning. “I understand why now and for that I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful and helped me understand some different things.”
