Whoopi Goldberg Apologizing Again For Her Remarks That The Holocaust Was “Not About Race”

“My best friend said, ‘Not for nothing is there no box on the census for the Jewish race.  So that leads me to believe that we’re probably not a race,'” Goldberg said.

“Recently, while doing press in London, I was asked about my comments from earlier this year.  I tried to convey to the reporter what I had said and why and attempted to recount that time,” Goldberg stated.  “It was never my intention to appear as if I was doubling down on hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in.”

“I’m still learning a lot, and believe me.  I heard everything everyone said to me.  I believe that the Holocaust was about race, and I am still as sorry now as I was then that I upset, hurt, and angered people.  My sincere apologies again, especially to everyone who thought this was a fresh rehash of the subject.  I promise it was not.”

She continued, “In this time of rising antisemitism, I want to be very clear when I say that I always stood with the Jewish people and always will.  My support for them has not wavered and never will.”

During her interview with the Times,  Goldberg suggested there is a debate about whether Jews were a race or a religious group when the interviewer reminded her that “Nazis saw Jews as a race.”

“Yes, but that’s the killer, isn’t it?” Goldberg responded.  “The oppressor is telling you what you are.  Why are you believing them?  They’re Nazis.  Why believe what they’re saying?”

“It wasn’t originally [about race].  Remember who they were killing first,” she continued.  “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.”

At the beginning of the year, during an episode of “The View,” Goldberg said something similar later that evening and again on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

ABC News President Kim Godwin tweeted at the time, “While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments.”

That evening, Goldberg apologized for her remarks on Twitter after they sparked significant backlash and drew the attention of the Anti-Defamation League.