NEW YORK — ABC News is suspending “The View” moderator Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks over erroneous remarks she made on the program about the Holocaust.
“While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments,” ABC News President Kim Godwin said in a memo sent to staff late Tuesday. “The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”
Goldberg, 66, said on Monday’s episode of the ABC News talk show that the Holocaust was “not about race ... it’s about man’s inhumanity to other man.”
The remark came during a discussion on a Tennessee school board’s decision to ban “Maus,” a graphic-novel depicting the Nazi death camps in World War II.
The Black comedian faced immediate blowback for the remarks, which were historically inaccurate.
“Racism was central to Nazi ideology. Jews were not defined by religion, but by race,” the US Holocaust Museum tweeted. “Nazi racist beliefs fueled genocide and mass murder.”
Goldberg has identified as Jewish in the past although she said she does not practice any religion.
“Whoopi has shown through her actions over many years that she understands the horrors of the Holocaust and she started today’s show with that recognition,” Godwin said in her memo. “But words matter and we must be cognizant of the impact our words have.”
Goldberg tried to course correct, issuing a robust apology on the Tuesday edition of “The View” where Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, was brought on as a guest to add context to the discussion.
“My words upset so many people, which was never my intention,” Goldberg said. “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.”
But that was not enough to quell the controversy, as the Walt Disney Co.-owned network previously severed relationships with talent over other racially insensitive statements.
A number of ABC News employees expressed anger that Goldberg’s remarks were not being treated with the same severity as other similar transgressions.
Longtime ABC News executive Barbara Fedida was fired last year following an investigation that revealed she made racist remarks about talent, including “Good Morning America” co-host Robin Roberts.
Chris Harrison was forced to leave his longtime role as host of ABC’s reality franchise “The Bachelor” last year after coming under fire for making racially insensitive comments during a Feb. 9 interview on “Extra” with former “Bachelorette” Rachel Lindsay. In the interview, Harrison played down the controversy over photos that surfaced of contestant Rachael Kirkconnell at an Old South-themed party.
Harrison stepped away before the season 25 finale, and parted ways with the franchise soon afterward.
In 2018, ABC fired comedian Roseanne Barr after she posted a racist joke about former Obama administration adviser Valerie Jarrett. Barr was removed from a successful revival of her popular 1990s sitcom “Roseanne,” which has continued its run as “The Connors.”
Goldberg, one of the few entertainers who has won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award, has been moderator of “The View” since 2007 when she replaced outspoken comedian Rosie O’Donnell.
Godwin called the comments “wrong and hurtful.”
