Whoopi Goldberg is under fire yet again for comments about the Holocaust
(Picture: Getty Images)Whoopi Goldberg has apologised for rehashing her controversial comments about the Holocaust for the second time.
Goldberg was suspended from her role as host of US talk show The View by ABC in February after suggesting the Holocaust “was not about race”.
She apologised for her remarks back then, but in a new interview with The Sunday Times, the Oscar winner repeated her controversial remarks.
After coming under fire again, the 67-year-old claimed on Tuesday that she meant no offence and was only trying to explain why she had made the comments.
"Recently while doing press in London, I was asked about my comments from earlier this year," Goldberg said in a statement.
"I tried to convey to the reporter what I had said and why, and attempted to recount that time.
"It was never my intention to appear as if I was doubling down on hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in.
"I’m still learning a lot and believe me, I heard everything everyone said to me."
Whoopi Goldberg continues to use the Holocaust as her punching bag.
— Lucy Lipiner (@LucyLipiner) December 25, 2022
We told her that her comments harm us and she simply doesn’t care. I survived the Nazis and the Holocaust, so I’ll be damned if I let a comedy has-been, peddling a fake Jewish name get the better of me. pic.twitter.com/wgAHGsBPPU
Goldberg added: “My sincere apologies again, especially to everyone who thought this was a fresh rehash of the subject. I promise it was not.
"In this time of rising antisemitism, I want to be very clear when I say that I always stood with the Jewish people and always will.
"My support for them has not wavered and never will.”
In the Times interview, published on December 24, Goldberg said that some Jewish people are split over whether they are a race or a religion, before she repeated the assertion that the Holocaust "wasn’t originally" about race.
Yet again, #WhoopiGoldberg’s comments about the Holocaust and race are deeply offensive and incredibly ignorant. When she made similar comments earlier this year, we explained how the Nazi regime was inherently racist. 🧵Read on...
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) December 27, 2022
The reporter told Goldberg, “Nazis saw Jews as a race,” to which she responded, “Yes, but that’s the killer, isn’t it?
"The oppressor is telling you what you are. Why are you believing them? They’re Nazis. Why believe what they’re saying?”
After the new interview, the Ghost star’s comments were condemned by community leaders again.
In a statement on Twitter, Holocaust survivor Lucy Lipiner referred to Goldberg as a “comedy has-been”.
Adding: “We told her that her comments harm us and she simply doesn’t care.
"I survived the Nazis and the Holocaust, so I’ll be damned if I let a comedy has-been peddling a fake Jewish name get the better of me.”
In another tweet, the Auschwitz Memorial shared a screengrab of a letter from Adolf Hitler in 1919, where he specifically wrote, “Jews are definitely a race” and described Jewish people as an “alien race”.
“Stop claiming the Holocaust wasn’t about race,” commented David Harris, the former CEO of the American Jewish Council, sharing Auschwitz Memorial’s tweet.
“It was all about race. Please get a grip and move on.”
Appearing on The View in January, Goldberg said: “Let’s be truthful about it because the Holocaust isn’t about race. No. It’s not about race...
“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. That’s the problem.”
She doubled down on her comments in an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that same day.
In February she issued an apology following the wide scale backlash.
