PEOPLE
NEW YORK — Whoopi Goldberg was suspended for two weeks Tuesday as co-host of “The View” because of what the head of ABC News called her “wrong and hurtful comments” about Jews and the Holocaust.
“While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities,” ABC News President Kim Godwin said in a statement.
The suspension came a day after Goldberg's comment during a discussion on “The View” that race was not a factor in the Holocaust. Goldberg apologized hours later and again on Tuesday's morning episode, but the original remark drew condemnation from prominent Jewish leaders.
“My words upset so many people, which was never my intention,” she said Tuesday morning. “I understand why now and for that I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful and helped me understand some different things.”
Goldberg made her original comments during a discussion on the show Monday about a Tennessee school board’s banning of “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Nazi death camps during World War II. She said the Holocaust was “not about race ... it’s about man’s inhumanity to other man.”
“I misspoke,” Goldberg said at the opening of Tuesday’s show.
The flare-up over Goldberg's remarks this week highlighted the enduring complexity of some race-related issues, including the widespread but strongly contested notion that only people of color can be victims of racism.
“Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” Godwin said in her statement.
“The View” brought on Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League and author of “It Could Happen Here,” on Tuesday to discuss why her words had been hurtful.
“Jewish people at the moment are feeling besieged," Greenblatt said.
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NEW YORK — CNN President Jeff Zucker abruptly resigned Wednesday after acknowledging a consensual relationship with another network executive, ending a nine-year tenure at the helm of the one of the nation's largest media companies.
Zucker said he acknowledged the relationship when asked about it as part of an investigation into Chris Cuomo, the former CNN anchor who was fired after it was discovered that he aided his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as he navigated a sexual harassment investigation.
"I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't," Zucker wrote in a memo. "I was wrong."
Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia, told employees in a memo that an interim leadership plan would be announced shortly.
Zucker, 56, has been an industry leader since he was executive producer of the "Today" show in the 1990s. In the following decade, he ran NBC's entertainment division, where he was instrumental in putting Donald Trump on the reality show "The Apprentice."
He rose to become chief of NBC Universal and left in 2010 when Comcast took over.
In a statement Zucker said he wished that his tenure at CNN had ended differently but, "it was an amazing run. And I loved every minute."
Allison Gollust, CNN's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, acknowledged the relationship in a memo of her own.
"Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years. Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn't disclose it at the right time. I'm incredibly proud of my time at CNN and look forward to continuing the great work we do everyday," she said.
Chris Cuomo actively helped craft his his brother's responses to sexual harassment charges, according to emails and a transcript of his testimony to investigators working for state Attorney General Letitia James. Her office found that Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women; the former governor resigned in August to avoid a likely impeachment trial.
From combined wire services
