‘The View’: Whoopi Goldberg Slams Racist ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘Rings of Power’ Fans

Whoopi Goldberg is calling out people who are upset with the new House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series for casting actors of color in the new fantasy television series. The View moderator didn’t mince words when she addressed people who have slammed the casting as too “woke” for the fictional stories. 

“I want to start by saying: These are not real,” Goldberg said Tuesday on the ABC daytime show “There are no dragons, there are no hobbits, and there are critics who are saying they were too woke by adding, yes,  diverse characters. Are you telling me Black people can’t be fake people, too?” She turned to the camera, asking, “I don’t know if there’s a hobbit club, I don’t know if there are going to be protests, but, people, what is wrong with y’all?”

Fellow panelist Sunny Hostin pointed out that the casting argument was made because people think it “betrays the source material” as written by George R. R. Martin and J.R.R. Tolkien, with the addition of actors including Steve Toussaint, Thusitha Jayasundera, Ismael Cruz Córdova, and Sophia Nomvete. “What I think is fascinating is that dragons are okay, fire-breathing dragons, and people with white hair that are born like that when they’re little, with violet eyes,” Hostin continued, “but Black people is just a bridge too far for them.”

Goldberg also brought into the conversation Disney’s upcoming Little Mermaid remake, which cast Halle Bailey as Ariel. “Y’all are gonna lose your minds when you see the new Ariel. I don’t want to upset any mermaids who are watching the show, because I know there are many communities of mermaids of various colors,” Goldberg said. “There are violet mermaids, there are pink mermaids, there are Black mermaids, there are Latina mermaids, there are mermaids of every ilk.”

She continued, “You know why there can be? It’s the world we would like to see – better. We would like to see as many people represented in fantasy. So, all of y’all who have problems because there are Black hobbits? Get a job, go find yourself, because you’re focused on the wrong stuff.”