Whoopi Goldberg is moving her way through history, seeking injustice to address and discuss. The latest topic concerns The British Royal Family and their imperialist colonial past. The View co-host’s call for an apology from The Royals comes as Prince William and Kate Middleton tour the Caribbean as part of the Queen’s jubilee celebration.
“We cannot ignore the fact that Britain ran roughshod over India for years,” Goldberg spoke about during The View. “Let us not forget, when we talk about what needs to happen, all the folks that need to apologize.”
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“Listen, this is not new,” the Oscar-winning actress continued. “I suspect Charles, when he was in Barbados [in 2021] had some idea because he went on and apologized as he was releasing the hold that Britain has. So perhaps somebody is listening, and it’s the new group of folks – I don’t know if it’s Charles, William, but one of them is supposed to be the person.”
The comments from Goldberg come after Prince William shared a mournful sentiment over Britain’s role in the global slave trade and colonialism while speaking in Jamaica. “I want to express my profound sorrow. Slavery was abhorrent. And it should never have happened,” Prince William said during a dinner in Kingston. “While the pain runs deep, Jamaica continues to forge its future with determination, courage and fortitude. The strength and shared sense of purpose of the Jamaican people, represented in your flag and motto, celebrate an invincible spirit.”
William added that he “strongly” agreed with his father’s sentiments shared in Barbados a year prior. He did not go on to apologize in the same manner. Goldberg had support, too, during The View broadcast, with Sunny Hostin pointing out other details and expectations from The Royals when discussing the past.
“The Brits rarely, especially the royals, rarely talk about their history of enslavement. They rarely talk about how they got their wealth off the backs of Black people,” Hostin said. They also had plenty who agreed on the ground in the Caribbean, including protestors in Jamaica who urged a British apology and the payment of reparations. “Kings, Queens and Princesses and Princes belong in fairytales, NOT in Jamaica!” a poster at the protest read.
The statement is the latest to grab headlines for Goldberg on the show, though for different reasons this time around. The Oscar winner apologized herself during after claiming the Holocaust was not about race, prompting condemnation from many and a suspension at ABC.
