Whoopi Goldberg’s former The View co-host calls Holocaust backlash a ‘learning moment’

Collins said she knows Goldberg is not ‘an antisemite’

Whoopi Goldberg’s former The View co-host Michelle Collins has said that Goldberg's suspension over her Holocaust comments should be considered "a learning moment".

Collins’s comments come after widespread backlash against Goldberg ,who said the Holocaust was “not about race” on Monday’s (31 January) episode of the ABC’s chat show.

Her remarks came during the panel’s discussion of a Tennessee school board’s decision to ban Pulitzer prize-winning Holocaust graphic novel Maus.

Shortly after Goldberg’s appearance on The View, the 66-year-old comedian offered her “sincerest apologies” for hurting Jewish people “around the world”.

However, the news network’s president Kim Godwin suspended Goldberg for two weeks “for her wrong and hurtful comments” on Tuesday (1 February).

Michelle Collins, who was one of the show’s two Jewish co-hosts before she was fired in 2016, has now come out in support of Goldberg as someone who “really appreciates other cultures and really learns about them” and is “not an antisemite”.

Speaking about the incident on the latest episode ofThe Michelle Collins Show on SiriusXM, Collins said she doesn’t believe Goldberg made those comments out of spite.

“I think you’re on a live show where things are said and then the headlines that come out of that show are so brutal,” she continued, adding, “Things are condensed into seven to 10 words, so you see those words, people don’t take the time to read, and then they lose their s***.”

Instead of “cancelling” Goldberg, which Collins believes would be“very cruel”, the comedian said we should view Goldberg’s comments and ensuing suspension as a “learning moment”.

She also praised Oscar winner Goldberg as “one of the icons of a generation”, adding that she thought Goldberg’s apology was “sincere”.

“Whoopi is not only brilliantly smart, brilliantly talented, hilarious, but very loving and very lovely,” Collins added.

The 40-year-old talk show host was fired from The View less than a year after network executives “soured” on her, Variety reported at the time.

She has been hosting The Michelle Collins Show since 2018.

Additional reporting by Press Association