When reflecting on how her career stalled following an alleged joke about then U.S. President George W. Bush., 'The View' host explains how her situation back then was different to nowadays.
- Aug 26, 2021
AceShowbiz - Whoopi Goldberg has slammed cancel culture, insisting "the truth doesn't seem to matter as much these days."
The comedienne and presenter found herself hitting headlines back in 2004 following an alleged joke about then U.S. President George W. Bush. During an interview with Variety, Whoopi reflected on how her career stalled following the controversy and was asked whether or not she thought she was "canceled" at the time - the word used to describe social media and press members denouncing public figures in response to offensive or insensitive behavior.
Answering, Whoopi replied, "No. I would describe that situation as a lot of people covering their backsides because the joke was never about him. But no one ever stood up and said, 'Hey, here's what actually happened.' And they put it in the newspaper. And you notice, they'd never seen what I exactly said, or what I said at all. But all somebody has to do is say you said it. I feel like the truth doesn't seem to matter as much these days."
Whoopi, who was speaking when accepting the annual International Icon gong at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Tuesday, August 24, added of cancel culture, "Because there is cancel culture, people will call or text and say 'I'm not buying your product. This is who you have talking about your product, me and my five million followers - if you keep her - we're not going to buy your car, or we're not going to buy your shampoo or we're not going to buy your toothbrush or we're not going to buy your Pampers.' "
Whoopi was given another chance in the industry when she was hired as a host on "The View" five years later. "Lucky for me, Barbara Walters offered me a job and said, 'Hey, would you like to do this?' And I was like, 'You know, I'm not in favor in the general public.' She said, 'You'll be perfect,' " Whoopi smiled.
