Rachel Bilson has reconsidered her viewpoint on men’s sexual history after being called out by Whoopi Goldberg. The O.C. star has reexamined her own opinions after initially saying during an Oct. 2 episode of her Broad Ideas podcast that she would think it was “a little weird” if a potential romantic partner had a low “body count.”
“If it’s really low, at this day and age, you’d be like, ‘It’s a little weird,’” Bilson said at the time. “This is going to sound so judgmental, but if a dude’s, like, in his 40s and he’s, like, slept with, like, four women. But it all depends. Maybe he’s been in, like, decade[-long] relationships.” She continued, “It’s not fair for me to say either way.”
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Goldberg then called Bilson out for her judgment during the Oct. 5 episode of The View. “I’m sorry, I think it’s very odd that you’re concerned that he’s had sexual partners – any sexual partners. Why is it your business?” The View moderator said. “Listen, men, traditionally, were taught to have many sexual partners.” She continued, “That’s how it was. Men could go and do whatever they wanted to do, and women were not supposed to.”
Recently, things are different, The Color Purple actress continued, as young women are finding more sexual agency. “Now that has been shifting, and young women have been b-ing about, you know, ‘Why are you telling me what I should be [doing?],’” Goldberg continued. “Now, it’s happening, and you’re mad. I don’t understand.”
Upon hearing another perspective, Bilson told Entertainment Weekly that she had taken another look at her own viewpoint. “I want to say that I’ve been a fan of Whoopi’s for a very long time, so when I saw the tagline that she criticized something I said, I, of course, was concerned,” the actress said. “We make it a very safe, open place to discuss anything, and we were just talking. I have the power to edit our podcast, and I chose to keep the conversation as a whole in, because a lot of the time in life, you say something, and maybe you have a minute and you reflect on it.”
“The point I get across is that it doesn’t matter, and maybe in the past I would’ve looked at it [judgmentally], but I wouldn’t do that anymore,” the Hart of Dixie star continued. “I made it clear that I don’t want to sound judgmental, it was important that that point get across, not what I said initially.” She added, “It was a flippant comment that I was just talking with friends, and then I retracted it, because even talking about it now, I’m like, I don’t actually believe that. That’s why I think it’s important to stand up for it and clarify.”
