Whoopi Goldberg Brands Younger Generations as Lazy on 'The View,' Catches Major Heat

Whoopi Goldberg blamed laziness for falling birth rates and homeownership among millennials and generation Z. On Wednesday, The View discussed new data that shows the younger generations are not achieving the same economic and family goals that their predecessors had by the same age. While other co-hosts on the panel chalked it up to economic struggles and changing societal expectations, Goldberg pinned it all on work ethic, and commenters were not happy.

"Apparently millennials and gen Z have a much different view of the American Dream than past generations," Goldberg said with a sardonic tone while introducing the segment. "Data shows that soaring inflation, student debt and limited room for advancement in the workplace has made them feel that milestones like affording a home, starting a family and excelling within the corporate structure are out of reach. Does every generation feel this way at some point? I say yes, what do you think?"

Former Trump administration staffer Alyssa Farrah Griffin, 34, weighed in first by pointing out all the economic hurdles millennials have faced – multiple recessions including the 2008 housing crisis, the economic strain of constant wars since 9/11 and the uphill battle to afford college. Griffin also tried to articulate the mindset of struggling millennials when it comes to having children – that they might not want to start a family if they couldn't offer their children the same economic status they enjoyed while growing up. She cited a statistic that 45 percent of people ages 18 to 29 living with their parents.

To Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines, this was a good sign that young people were thinking carefully before having children rather than just succumbing to societal pressure. However, to Goldberg these were just excuses for lazy people. She said: "Listen, every generation comes and wants to do better than their parents did. But, I'm sorry, if you only want to work four hours, it's going to be harder for you to get a house. I feel for everybody that feels this, but, I'm sorry, we busted our behinds, we had to bust our behinds, because we didn't have the option of going back. We had all kinds of stuff."

When Griffin pushed back on the circumstances, Goldberg insisted that baby boomers faced equal economic struggles to millennials. She said "every generation is told you're going to do worse than your parents," but "You know what, people pick it up, and they do what they do and they raise themselves. This is what you've got to do. It's called being a good citizen."

Unsurprisingly, commenters were not pleased to hear this lecture from Goldberg – a 67-year-old multi-millionaire. who is paid $8 million per year for her work on The View, according to a report by CelebrityNetWorth.com. Here's a look at how Goldberg was criticized in the hours after this segment aired.