Advertisement

Whoopi Goldberg apologizes for using derogatory term on The View : 'I'm really, really sorry'

Whoopi Goldberg has issued an apology after using what is often considered to be an offensive slur for Romani people on Wednesday's episode of The View.

During a discussion about Donald Trump's alleged connection to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, conservative cohost — and former Trump associate — Alyssa Farah Griffin spoke about a lack of outrage on the matter from "white MAGA bros on Twitter." Goldberg then segued the point into a conversation about Trump's larger base of support.

"The people who still believe that he got, you know, gy---d somehow in the election, will still believe that he cared enough about his wife to pay the..." the 67-year-old said, pausing to burp in the middle of her thought. "...that was gas... money from his personal thing."

Whoopi Goldberg on The View
Whoopi Goldberg on The View

ABC Whoopi Goldberg on 'The View.'

After EW reached out for comment, The View tweeted a video of Goldberg addressing the segment.

"You know, when you're a certain age, you use words that you know from when you're a kid or you remember saying, and that's what I did today, and I shouldn't have," Goldberg said in the clip below. "I should have thought about it a little longer before I said it, but I didn't, and I should have said 'cheated,' and I used another word, and I'm really, really sorry."

Following the moment, a small number of users on Twitter urged Goldberg against saying the word.

"Please don't use 'gy---d' Whoopi," one viewer wrote, while linking to an NPR explainer on the history of the term for Romani people, which states that "the term carries many negative connotations, and its derivative carries even more: when somebody is 'gy---d,' they are, according to Merriam-Webster, 'defrauded, swindled, cheated.'"

Goldberg previously landed in hot water in early 2022 for remarks she made about Jewish people, after she suggested that "the Holocaust isn't about race" on an episode of the show.

ABC News President Kim Godwin later released a statement announcing that Goldberg was suspended from The View for two weeks.

Goldberg further drew ire in December 2022 for an interview she gave to British publication The Times, in which she addressed her prior Holocaust comments.

"Recently while doing press in London, I was asked about my comments from earlier this year," Goldberg said in a statement provided to EW at the time. "I tried to convey to the reporter what I had said and why, and attempted to recount that time. It was never my intention to appear as if I was doubling down on hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in. I'm still learning a lot and believe me, I heard everything everyone said to me."

The View continues weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content: