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Whoopi Goldberg apologizes for saying Holocaust is not about race

After making statements on ABC’s “The View” program, Whoopi Goldberg took to Twitter to issue an apology

By Gitanjali Poonia Gitanjali Pooniagpoonia@deseretnews.com
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Whoopi Goldberg speaks during the Broadway at the White House event.

Whoopi Goldberg speaks during the Broadway at the White House event in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 16, 2015. Goldberg has apologized in a tweet Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, for saying the Holocaust was not about race. Her initial comments Monday morning on ABC’s ‘’The View” caused a backlash.

Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press

Actress Whoopi Goldberg apologized after facing backlash for saying that Holocaust was not about race, per CBS News.

A few hours after ABC’s “The View” program aired on Monday, Goldberg issued an apology on Twitter.

  • “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. 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,” Goldberg said.
  • “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,” she said.
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What happened on the show?

On ABC’s “The View” program, the hosts were discussing a Tennessee school board’s banning of “Maus,” a graphic novel about the Nazi death camps during World War II.

  • The board cited nudity and profanity as reasons for banning the book, which has won a Pulitzer Prize, among other literary awards.

Goldberg said, “I’m surprised that’s what made you uncomfortable, the fact that there was some nudity. I mean, it’s about the Holocaust, the killing of 6 million people, but that didn’t bother you? If you’re going to do this, then let’s be truthful about it. Because the Holocaust isn’t about race. No, it’s not about race,” per CNN.

  • When co-host Joy Behar said that the Nazi Jews were a different race, Goldberg replied, “But it’s not about race. It’s not. It’s about man’s inhumanity to other men.”

Co-host Ana Navarro pushed back and said that it’s about white supremacy where Jews, gypsies and Roma were targeted.

  • Goldberg responded by saying, “but 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’s a problem,” she said.