Whoopi Goldberg sparks fury by demanding royal family apologise for slavery

25 March 2022, 18:59

Whoopi Goldberg has sparked fury after demanding that the royal family apologise for its colonial past.

The actress hit out at the royals during talk show The View on Thursday, when the panel was discussing Kate and Williams's tour of the Caribbean.

"We cannot ignore the fact that Britain ran roughshod over India for years… Let us not forget, when we talk about what needs to happen, all the folks that need to apologise," she said.

"Listen, this is not new. I suspect Charles, when he was in Barbados [in 2021], had some idea because he went on and apologised 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."

Read more: Kate and Wills' farewell to Jamaica in Land Rover echoes Queen's trip from bygone era

Read more: William and Kate arrive to another slavery controversy as they touch down in Bahamas

Prince William and Kate are currently on a Caribbean tour, visiting Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Whilst their arrival has been welcomed by many, it has also sparked a number of protests calling for the royal family to apologise for its links to the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries.

A group called the National Reparations Committee said the royals should not "ignore the devastation of their heritage".

Protests also took place in Jamaica.

Ms Goldberg's comments saw a backlash online, with one person tweeting: "It's crazy to me that Whoopi Goldberg is trying to cancel the Queen.

"What would apologising do? It's not like she'd be holding herself accountable considering the empire started to form in the 15th Century, and Old Liz wasn’t even queen until decade[s] after the Commonwealth formed."

Another tweeted: "Whoopi Goldberg the UK doesn't need to apologise for something that happened many many years ago. Stop jumping on this woke bandwagon."

A further Twitter user said: "Dear Whoopi Goldberg, No, I will not apologise for something that happened before I was born. I feel no guilt. I was not to blame.

"Raking over old coals is doing more harm than good too, it's getting people's backs up and undoing years of interracial progress.

"Move on!"

Prince William helps Kate Middleton down the stairs during Royal Tour of Caribbean

Ms Goldberg was previously embroiled in another controversy after saying the Holocaust "isn't about race" on show.

She said the historic atrocity was about "man's inhumanity to man" during a discussion about a Tennessee school board's decision to ban Pulitzer prize-winning Holocaust graphic novel Maus.

Following the uproar, she posted a statement on Twitter saying: "On today's show I said the Holocaust 'is not about race, but about man's inhumanity to man'. I should have said it is about both.

"As Jonathan Greenblatt from of the Anti-Defamation League shared, 'The Holocaust was about the Nazi's systematic annihilation of the Jewish people - who they deemed to be an inferior race'. I stand corrected.

"The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waver. I am sorry for the hurt I have caused.

"Written with my sincerest apologies. Whoopi Goldberg."