'The View' Alleged New Details About Whoopi Goldberg's Hiatus

Whoopi Goldberg's abrupt departure from The View won't be in effect for too long. On Wednesday, the show's official Twitter account announced that Goldberg would be on hiatus from the daytime talk show until May 2. "ICYMI: Our EGOT winner is away doing EGOT things! See you soon @WhoopiGoldberg."

On Monday, co-host Joy Behar broke the news that Goldberg was on an extended break. "If you're wondering where Whoopi is, the girl's got a movie she's making and she will be back when she finishes whatever she's doing," Behar said. "So, she's gone for a while." 

The Color Purple actress is actually off filming the upcoming Amazon series Anansi Boys in Scotland. Goldberg, who was cast as the villain Bird Woman, recently told Variety that she is a long-time supporter of the titular 2005 novel on which the series is based. "I have been a fan of this book for a very long time and when Neil Gaiman told me it was being brought to the screen, I did everything I could to be part of it to help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic," she said. 

Gaiman also revealed to Variety that he had envisioned Goldberg portraying Bird Woman decades before they first met in 2018."When I first conceived Anansi Boys decades ago, I imagined Whoopi Goldberg as Bird Woman," Gaiman said. "She mentioned that she had just finished listening to Sir Lenny Henry's reading of Anansi Boys and that it was one of her favorite books," he continued. "Sometimes things feel planned and inevitable, and we are incredibly lucky. She's going to be scary." 

This break comes after Goldberg's one-week suspension from The View in February. During a panel discussion about the recent banning of Maus by a Tennessee school board, Goldberg stated on-air that the Holocaust wasn't "about race." Goldberg was suspended for two weeks from the talk show. After returning to the show later that month, Goldberg said it was "an honor to sit at this table" as she pledged to "keep having tough conversations."