Anti-Defamation League (ADL) chief Jonathan Greenblatt on Tuesday called out actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg for what he said were “offensive” remarks on the Holocaust.
“Whoopi Goldberg’s comments about the Holocaust and race are deeply offensive and incredibly disappointing, especially given that this is not the first time she had made remarks like this,” Greenblatt said in a statement. “In a moment when antisemitic incidents have surged across the US, she should realize that making such ignorant statements can have real consequences.”
Greenblatt’s statement came in response to Goldberg’s recent interview with The Sunday Times, in which she told the London-based newspaper that the Holocaust “wasn’t originally” based on race.
“Remember who they were killing first. They were not killing racial; they were killing physical. They were killing people they considered to be mentally defective. And then they made this decision,” the 67-year-old television host said in the interview.
Greenblatt also noted his previous statement to Goldberg about the Nazi’s racism toward Jewish people when she made similar comments about race and the Holocaust during a “Hot Topic” segment on “The View,” where she serves as co-host.
“Germans considered themselves the ‘master race’ and claimed all other non-Aryans were inferior. This is a trope we still hear echoed by white supremacists in the U.S. today,” Greenblatt said. “As a result of the racial Nuremberg laws, six million Jews, including at least 1.5 million Jewish children, who were slaughtered in the Nazi gas chambers and death camps during the Holocaust, as were millions of others.”
Goldberg interviewed with The Sunday Times to promote her new film “Till,” in which she plays civil rights activist Mamie Till-Mobley’s mother.
She was suspended for two weeks earlier this year by ABC News for her previous remarks on the Holocaust. She later apologized for those comments.
Goldberg, an Academy Award-winning actress, is among a list of prominent celebrities and athletes who have faced massive criticism for their remarks on Jewish people and the Holocaust, including rapper and fashion designer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving.
Greenblatt concluded his statement by asking Goldberg to “apologize immediately” for her remarks and to educate herself “on the true nature of antisemitism and how it was the driving force behind the systemic slaughter of millions.”
“She shouldn’t do it for the ratings — she should do it simply because it’s the right thing to do,” Greenblatt said. “Failure to address the issue would raise serious questions about her sincerity and solidarity with her Jewish viewers and all those who experience any form of hate.”