OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg returned to work on Monday following her two-week suspension.
Goldberg was suspended after she claimed on the show that the Holocaust was “not about race,” but rather “about man’s inhumanity to man.”
Goldberg spoke vaguely about the controversy at the beginning of Monday’s broadcast, saying she learned from her time away.
But one thing was noticeable: she didn’t apologize or even directly mention the controversy. Instead, she said the panel would continue having “tough” conversations moving forward.
“Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to ‘The View’ — and yes, I am back,” Goldberg began.
“We missed you,” co-host Joy Behar replied.
“And I missed you all too,” Goldberg agreed. “I got to tell you, there’s something kind of marvelous about being on a show like this because we are ‘The View,’ and this is what we do, and sometimes we don’t do it as elegantly as we could, and sometimes – but it’s five minutes to get in important information about topics.”
“And that’s what we try to do every day, and I want to thank everybody who reached out while I was away, and I’m telling you,” Goldberg continued. “People reached out from places that made me go, wait, wait. What? Really? Okay!”
“And it was amazing, and I listened to everything everybody had to say, and I was very grateful, and I hope it keeps all the important conversations happening because we’re going to keep having tough conversations.”
“Yeah,” co-host Sunny Hostin agreed.
“And in part, because this is what we have been hired to do, and it’s not always pretty as I said, and it’s not always as other people would like to hear, but it is an honor to sit at this table and be able to have these conversations because they’re important,” Goldberg concluded. “They’re important to us as a nation, and to us more so as a human entity. So happy Valentine’s Day, y’all.”
WATCH:
BREAKING: Whoopi Goldberg is back on #TheView after her two-week suspension from the show pic.twitter.com/Epg8clumtE
— The Chat (@LiveOnTheChat) February 14, 2022
CNN Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter also noted that Goldberg made no direct mention of her comments that got her suspended.
“Whoopi Goldberg back on @TheView after a two-week suspension. No direct mention of the controversy. ‘I want to thank everybody who reached out while I was away… I listened… We’re going to keep having tough conversations. In part because that’s what we’ve been hired to do,’” Stelter wrote.
Whoopi Goldberg back on @TheView after a two-week suspension. No direct mention of the controversy. "I want to thank everybody who reached out while I was away… I listened… We're going to keep having tough conversations. In part because that's what we've been hired to do."
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 14, 2022
When you apologize but continue defend your comments, that’s not really an apology. @WhoopiGoldberg is a racist antisemite: ‘View' host Whoopi Goldberg returns from suspension over Holocaust remarks: 'Honor to sit at this table'https://t.co/76kcMcz1Pm
— Let’s Go Brandon (@NedRyerson1776) February 14, 2022
Last week, reports broke that Goldberg was “livid” that she was suspended from “The View” for two weeks over her highly controversial remarks about the Holocaust.
ABC News President Kim Godwin said that Goldberg would be suspended for “her wrong and hurtful comments” about the Holocaust, where she claimed the Holocaust was “not about race.”
“While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments,” Godwin said. “The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family, and communities.”
“She feels ABC executives mishandled this. She followed their playbook. She went on ‘The Late Show With Steven Colbert’ and then apologized again on ‘The View’ the next day,” a source reportedly told the Post. “Her ego has been hurt and she’s telling people she’s going to quit. Suspension from ‘The View’ is like getting suspended from Bravo. The bar is very low.”
Whoopi Goldberg 'livid,' threatening to quit 'The View' over her suspension: source https://t.co/bPWEPlWHbp pic.twitter.com/MHiufDncWn
— New York Post (@nypost) February 2, 2022
One insider told Page Six that the controversy was not “just going to blow over.”
“ABC staffers and Disney Network execs are saying Whoopi went way too far. And board members are not happy with her apology and want a fuller retraction. The word is that Whoopi is in ‘deep s–t,’” the ABC insider said. “Why does Whoopi seemingly get a pass when others don’t? Perhaps this time she won’t. Many at the network — including her fellow hosts — believe Whoopi is too controversial now for the show.”
“This will cast a shadow over everything for a while. Even Joy Behar was heard saying backstage that Whoopi is ‘dead wrong’ and may not ever recover from this,” the source said. “Joy found this particularly troubling and couldn’t believe Whoopi wouldn’t stand corrected until she was forced.”
The news comes days after it was announced that “The View” would be bringing back some old hosts to step in as they search for a new, permanent co-host.
“Beginning in February, The View will be welcoming Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Elisabeth Hasselback back to the table to guest co-host the show, PEOPLE can exclusively confirm. The three women, who are among the show’s longest-running co-hosts, are making their return on separate dates throughout the month of February to celebrate the series’ landmark 25th season,” the report said.
“Vieira, 68, and Jones, 59, are two of the original cast members who held a seat at the table when The View premiered in August 1997. They both remained on the series until their departure during the ninth season in 2006. Hasselbeck, 44, who established the conservative seat during her time on the show, served as a co-host from 2003 until 2013 during seasons 7-16. She also briefly returned in March 2020 for a guest appearance,” the report added.
