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Whoopi Goldberg is setting the record straight. When speaking on cancel culture at the recent Edinburgh TV Festival, the comedian and actress opened up about how a joke about President George W. Bush backfired and left her without work for about five years.
While it may seem to hard to remember, there was a time when the esteemed Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award winner could not get a job. She says her career “came to a gigantic halt,” yet she insists she does not think she was “canceled,” and credits Barbara Walters and The View for reviving her career.
At the Edinburgh TV Festival in its “International Icon” interview, the icon opened up about that tricky time in her career.
“I would describe that situation as a lot of people covering their backsides because the joke was never about him,” she explained. “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.”
“Because there is cancel culture,” Goldberg said, “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 5 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.’”
She then pivoted to how her shot at The View helped revive her career.
“Lucky for me,” Goldberg asserted, “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.’”
The TV and film star also took the time to speak on the specific challenges when being a woman of color in entertainment.
“I believe that it has been hard, but that’s why more women of color have to write the things they want to see,” Goldberg contended. “Now, if you want to get famous from it, that’s a whole other conversation. But if you get the work done, learn how to do everything, you can do it on YouTube. The industry could help new talent by just opening their eyes.”
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