Whoopi Goldberg Claims Holocaust ‘Not About Race’

Whoopi Goldberg arrives at 55th Annual CLIO Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on Oct. 1, 2014, in New York City.

Television personality Whoopi Goldberg is facing backlash following the latest episode of “The View,” in which she claimed the Holocaust was “not about race.”

During the Monday episode, the group of co-hosts began discussing a Tennessee school board voting to remove the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Maus,” due to its language and graphic illustrations about the Holocaust.

The co-hosts also discussed a Florida bill that could prohibit conversations about race and gender that would make people feel uncomfortable in schools and private businesses.

The conflict started when co-host Sunny Hostin wondered if teaching students about the Holocaust would eventually be forbidden.

“If you’re going to do this, then let’s be truthful about it,” Goldberg said. “Because the Holocaust isn’t about race. No, it’s not about race.”

When Joy Behar questioned what the Holocaust was about, Goldberg replied, “It’s about man’s inhumanity to man. That’s what it’s about.”

The response prompted co-host Ana Navarro to chime and share her opinion. “Well, it’s about white supremacy. That’s what it’s about. It’s about going after Jews and gypsies. But these are two groups of white people,” she said.

Goldberg disagreed.

“But you’re missing the point. The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley. Let’s talk about it for what it is. It’s how people treat each other. It’s a problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white because Black, white, Jews ... everybody eats each other.”

Following the comments, “Whoopi” became a trending topic on Twitter with viewers slamming the co-host over the comments about genocide that resulted in the deaths of an estimated six million European Jews.

“Whoopi’s characterization of the Holocaust as being between ‘two groups of white people’ is further evidence that many Americans are incapable of understanding race and racism through any prism other than theirs,” one user posted.

The Auschwitz Museum tweeted a link to an online course about the history of the Holocaust.

While some Twitter users have demanded ABC reprimand Goldberg over the comments, the network has yet to publicly address the controversy.