ADL chief says Whoopi Goldberg shouldn’t be ‘canceled’

The head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says Whoopi Goldberg shouldn’t be “canceled” following “The View” co-host’s recent polarizing comments about the Holocaust.  

During Monday’s episode of ABC’s “The View,” Goldberg said the Holocaust “isn’t about race” during a discussion about a Tennessee school board’s decision to remove “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from an eighth grade language arts curriculum.  

When asked by co-host Joy Behar what the genocide was about, Goldberg said, “It’s about man’s inhumanity to man.”  

“Well, it’s about white supremacy. That’s what it’s about. It’s about going after Jews and gypsies,” Ana Navarro, another co-host, responded to Goldberg.  

Goldberg’s comments sparked widespread backlash, and she issued an on-air apology Tuesday and spoke on the program with ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who explained how Goldberg’s comments were inaccurate and harmful. The host was also suspended for two weeks over what the head of ABC News called “wrong and hurtful comments” about Jews and the Holocaust.  

But during an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon on Tuesday night, Greenblatt warned about unfairly condemning Goldberg over the comments.  

“We sometimes have people in public places who can say clumsy things about race or faith or gender. I don’t believe in cancel culture. I like the phrase that my friend Nick Cannon uses. We need ‘counsel culture,’” Greenblatt told Lemon.  

“In the Jewish faith, Don, we have a concept called ‘teshuva,’ and ‘teshuva’ means redemption. It means all of us have the power to admit when we do wrong and to commit to doing better,” he said.  

“I heard Whoopi say that she’s committed to doing better. I accept that apology with the sincerity with which she delivered it,” he added.  

“I’m committed, ADL is committed, to work with her and to work with others who really want to use this as a teachable moment,” he said.