Whoopi Goldberg finds herself once again in the middle of a controversy. Toward the end of last year, she generated outrage with some pretty offensive statements about the Holocaust in an episode of The View, which led to her being suspended from the show for two weeks. This time, however, the co-host is being blasted on social media for a remark on yesterday’s talk show episode regarding the subject of police brutality and the need for police reform.
It all began with the case of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old black man who was recently tased and beaten by police officers after being pulled over for what they claimed was reckless driving. The incident resulted in Nichols’ death, which has led to a major uproar among the general public, especially since the body cam footage of the incident was released. While discussing the situation on The View, Goldberg expressed her anguish and confessed to not having been able to watch the video.
Continuing, the co-host called to attention the need to bring about police reform, and for people to actually do something about the long-standing situation: “I’m sick of this. You should be sick of this… Don’t sit around and just talk about them, let’s get something done. Because this is not gonna stop until we stop it. It is up to us.” While the audience present generally agreed with Goldberg, another statement generated controversy online.
In the video that is circulating on Twitter, Goldberg is seen questioning for how much longer the overwhelming cases of police brutality will be allowed to go on, and what needs to happen before anything changes:
“Seems things don’t make sense to people unless it’s somebody they can feel, or they can recognize. But how many times do we have to— do we need to see white people also get beaten before anybody will do anything?”
Immediately after, she clarified that she was not suggesting this as a solution, but simply wondering if that is “what people have to see in order to wake up and realize this affects us all.” Despite the quick clarification, many people did not take kindly to these words being spoken, claiming that Goldberg is inciting racially motivated violence.
Meanwhile, others have come to Goldberg’s defense, explaining that some folks are purposefully taking the co-host’s words out of context and misinterpreting them. They further express their agreement with Goldberg, claiming that something will only change when police brutality starts affecting more white people.
Twitter seems to be the focal point of the debate, which is still ongoing, as more and more people join the conversation about police reform. Whether one agrees with or condemns Goldberg’s words, it’s hard to deny that she brought an important discussion to the table.
