Black American celebrity apologizes for saying Holocaust was "not about race", but about "two groups of Whites", her talk show suspends her for two weeks
News agencies are reporting that American television station ABC News has suspended actress Whoopi Goldberg, a host on the talk show called “The View”, for two weeks. The station decided to do so after the comedian made controversial comments about the Holocaust.
Goldberg said on the talk show that the Nazi genocide of the Jews during World War II involved “two groups of Whites”, and was not about race. She later apologized for her words.
The debate about the Holocaust on Monday’s episode of “The View” was sparked by the decision of a school board in the state of Tennessee to withdraw the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman, which tells the story of the Holocaust through his own parents’ story. Management at the McMinn County, Tennessee, Board of Education claimed to disapprove of the fact that the book includes an image of a naked woman.
The 66-year-old actress said, in that context: “I’m surprised you’re uncomfortable with the fact that there is some nudity. I mean, it’s about the Holocaust, the killing of millions of people, that’s not what bothers you?”
“If you’re going to do this, let’s be truthful about it. The Holocaust isn’t about race,” Goldberg declared.
When another moderator on the program objected that the Nazis considered Jews to be a different race, Goldberg replied, “It wasn’t about race. It wasn’t. It was about man’s inhumanity to man,” she insisted, noting that the Nazis and their victims were “two groups of Whites.”
Her remarks provoked a sharp response. Jewish representatives called the comments dangerous and the latest example of growing ignorance of the genocide in which the Nazis murdered six million Jews during World War II after calling them an inferior race.
Goldberg later apologized for the statements. “I said ‘the Holocaust is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man.’ I should have said it is about both,” she posted to Twitter.
“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,” she tweeted.
The New York Times has reported that Goldberg also apologized during an episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and at the beginning of Tuesday’s episode of “The View”. ABC News head Kim Godwin announced Tuesday she is temporarily suspending Goldberg from the show over her choice of words.
“While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments,” Godwin added. “The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”
