Whoopi Goldberg is once again coming under fire for uttering something controversial on The View, and just issued an apology for using an ethnic slur on-air. Last week, the talk show co-host, 67, was speaking about the 2020 presidential election with her co-stars, and said a slur that is commonly used against Romani people.
While discussing the Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels scandal, she referenced “people who still believe that he got gy—d somehow in the election.” After fans on Twitter stressed the importance of not using the slur, Goldberg quickly took to the app to apologize to viewers.
The Color Purple star stressed that she meant to say “people still believing he got cheated during the election,” but rather than saying ‘cheated,’ she apparently inadvertently used the slur, which is now muted out of the episode on Hulu.
READ MORE: People Are So Mad At Whoopi Goldberg For Saying This On ‘The View’—Did She Cross The Line?
A message from Whoopi Goldberg regarding today’s episode of #TheView. pic.twitter.com/PIvwYRWMsy
— The View (@TheView) March 15, 2023
Whoopi Goldberg Uses Slur Against Romani People And Swiftly Apologizes
The Sister Act alum recorded a video of herself apologizing, and it was then uploaded to The View‘s official Twitter account not long after the episode aired. “You know, when you’re a certain age you use words that you know from when you’re a kid or you remember saying and that’s what I did today, and I shouldn’t have,” she said.
She added, “I should have thought about it a little longer before I said it, but I didn’t. And I should have said cheated, and I used another word, and I’m really, really sorry.”
Whoopi Goldberg issues public apology for using the racially charged word https://t.co/dJY3kN8QMB
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 16, 2023
Fans on the social media site explained how the slur affected them after seeing Goldberg use it, and why it is vital that she (and anyone for that matter) remember its problematic history.
“Gypsy,” as the New York Post points out, is commonly used to describe the Romani people, but according to Merriam-Webster, it also carries negative connotations including “defrauded, swindled and cheated.”
Whoopi Goldberg apologizes for using Romani slur on ABC’s The View https://t.co/bZD5W2DdaL
— The Guardian (@guardian) March 16, 2023
The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the first known recorded definition of the term “gy—d” dates back to the 1899 Century Dictionary. This publication said that it is “probably an abbreviation of ‘gypsy,’ ‘gipsy,’ as applied to a sly unscrupulous fellow.”
“Please don’t use ‘gy—d’ Whoopi,” one user wrote on Twitter, sharing a link to a 2013 NPR article that investigated why the term “Hurts The Roma More Than It Hurts You,” as the headline expressed.
Whoopi Goldberg apologizes for using slur ‘gypped’ on ‘The View’: “I’m really, really sorry.” https://t.co/nx7LUBP8um
— Yahoo Entertainment (@YahooEnt) March 15, 2023
Viewers Point Out That This Isn’t Goldberg’s ‘First Time’ Saying Something ‘Majorly Offensive’ On-Air
Other users noted that they were “still bothered” by Goldberg’s “harrowing” comments about the Holocaust last year, and that “saying inappropriate things” on the show is a pattern for her.
“Whoopi Goldberg tapes video apology for saying ‘gy—d’ on ‘The View’: ‘I’m really sorry’ EXCUSES, EXCUSES, THAT IS WHAT SHE MEANT. IS NOT THE 1ST TIME,” one user commented. Another added, “How many times does she have to apologize? Take [her] off the air.”
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In January 2022 she spoke about the Holocaust, and said that anti-Semitic behavior did not always equate to racism. She was then officially suspended for two weeks from her co-host position after her (what many viewers considered to be) “shocking” comments.
On the now infamous January 31st episode of the show last year, Goldberg said that the genocide of European Jews during World War II “wasn’t about race,” but rather “man’s inhumanity to man.” She later apologized that evening on Twitter, doubled down on her comments in an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and then apologized again on The View the following morning.
