Whoopi Goldberg is frustrated with the criticism of Hollywood elites over the reaction to the moment at the Oscars when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.
During an episode of âThe Viewâ Thursday, guest host Tara Setmayer, a former CNN political commentator, pointed out the crowd proceeded to give Smith a standing ovation.
She explained, âWhich I think again goes back to why some people feel like Hollywood elites are a bunch of hypocrites because they go out there and give these statements of moral superiority about things, and political statements, and then theyâre standingâŚdoing a standing ovation after he just assaulted Chris Rock.â
Goldberg interrupted, saying she would not have stood up for a standing ovation and just wants to âstop with this âeliteâ stuff because, you know, a lot of us work for a living. We work. We collect a check. We got families. We try to do the same thing, the good stuff that everybody else tries to do.â
She continued, âAnd it really pisses me off when people start to talk about people who work in Hollywood, not just the actors, but all the other folks. So please, when you are talking about actors, be specific.â
Check out her comments below:
Goldberg argued if someone is âpissed off about somebody or how they act, donât put it on all of us, cause thatâs like saying all Black people like chicken.â
Setmayer previously suggested on the show Smith should have been removed from the building after the incident, as IJR reported.
According to Goldberg, they did not remove Smith âbecause that would have been another 15-20 minute explanation of why weâre taking the Black man out five seconds before theyâre about to decide whether heâs won an Oscar or not.â
She added, âThis is not the first time craziness has happened on stage, but this is the first time weâve seen anybody assault anybody on stage.â
The New York Times reported on Wednesday Smith was asked to leave the venue.
âThings unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,â the Academy said in a statement.
It continued, âWhile we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.â
Rock also spoke out after the incident, as the Times reported.
âIâm still kind of processing what happened,â Rock said.
Additionally, the Academy called Smithâs actions a âdeeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television.â
They apologized to Rock for what he âexperienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience in that moment.â
