‘The View’ Host Whoopi Goldberg Reveals She’s ‘Not Allowed’ to Drive Over Poor Eyesight

Whoopi Golberg revealed that she is not allowed to drive anymore because of her bad eyesight on a recent episode of The View. The 63-year-old comedian has always worn thick glasses, but she has now revealed that her sight has deteriorated even further, keeping her off the road.

Goldberg mentioned her travel situation on Monday’s episode of The View, during an interview with actors Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista. The two were there to discuss their new movie Stuber, in which Nanjiani plays an Uber driver. While discussing the ride sharing app, Goldberg revealed she never uses it.

“You don’t take Uber? How do you get around?” Nanjiani asked.

“I have a driver,” Goldberg replied.

“She’s a big star,” joked Sunny Hostin. There was an awkward applause from the crowd at the mention of this extravagance, but Goldberg turned and grimaced at them, shaking her hands as if to quiet them.

“No, no,” she said. “Thank you for all of that, but the reason I have a driver is because I’m not allowed to drive. My sight is not good enough, and people get nervous when I get behind the wheel.”

There was laughter at that, as Goldberg took on a self-effacing tone, but Nanjiani clutched his heart in surprise.

“I believe in you!” he said. “I believe you could drive.”

Though she has a good sense of humor about it, Goldberg has had many health issues in recent months, not confined to her bad eyes. In February she took a long break from hosting The View as she was treated for pneumonia and sepsis.

“I’m very, very lucky,” she told PEOPLE of the issue. “The doctor told me, ‘Listen, you’re not going anywhere tomorrow and you’re not going anywhere next week because you are really sick. I never thought of pneumonia as something that serious. In my mind I wasn’t that sick. I hope that this is a cautionary tale for people. You have to take the time to take care of yourself.”

In spite of her health issues, Goldberg is dedicated to hosting The View. In an interview with The New York Times this month, she said that she continues to show up for the show after more than a decade simply because she loves to do it.

“It’s my job,” she said. “I get [fulfillment] from the fact that I’m doing anything.”

However, Goldberg did not pretend that the show was a perfectly organic conversation presented with no filter at all.

“These are not conversations that I’m having with my friends. If they were, we’d be doing it differently,” she admitted. “My friends and I can talk about things in depth in a different way than you can on television.”

The View airs on week days at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.