Who said the drama meter would dip on “The View” with Rosie O’Donnell being gone?
The outspoken O’Donnell may have fled from ABC’s daytime chatfest, but it didn’t take her replacement long to stir things up.
Yes, controversy has found its way back to the talk show set.
Just minutes after Whoopi Goldberg debuted as the show’s new co-host yesterday she made a comment about Michael Vick’s dog fighting case. In case you missed it, the actress-turned talk show host basically said that in the culture that Vick was raised, dog fighting was not such an unusual practice. She then went on to imply that to some people living in the south, dogs are considered “sport.”
“It’s like cockfighting in Puerto Rico,” said Goldberg. “There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of the country.”
For the record, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback grew up in Virginia. Last week he pleaded guilty to federal dog fighting charges. He also admitted that he provided money to operate a dog-fighting ring on his Virginia property, and he helped kill six or eight pit bulls.
Vick’s case made headlines for weeks and no one should have been surprised that the ladies on “The View” would choose to discuss it on the “Hot Topics” portion of the show. I just don’t think people were expecting to hear Goldberg imply that Vick’s actions were a result of his upbringing.
“I just thought it was interesting, because it seemed like a light went off in his head when he realized this was something that the entire country didn’t appreciate,” Goldberg said yesterday.
Twenty-four hours later (and a scathing letter from PETA) Goldberg responded to the public outcry generated by her recent comments. On today’s show Goldberg insisted that she was not defending Vick’s actions, nor was she “condoning” what he did.
She said people misconstrued her comments and that those in the media had her “eating dogs” and “swinging `em by the tail.”
Later in the show, when Barbara Walters said that they’d be announcing a new co-host next week, Goldberg joked, “I was only here a day! You’re replacing me already?”
Jokes aside I don’t think it is a coincidence that Goldberg’s comments were incredibly similar to ones made by actor Jamie Foxx who spoke about Vick’s arrest two weeks ago in an interview with TV’s “Access Hollywood.”
“It’s a cultural thing, I think,” Foxx said. “Most brothers didn’t know that, you know. I used to see dogs fighting in the neighborhood all the time. I didn’t know that was fed time. So, Mike probably just didn’t read his handbook on what not to do as a black star.”
In the TV interview Foxx went on to say:
“I know that cruelty to animals is bad, but sometimes people shoot people and kill people and don’t get time. I think in this situation, he really didn’t know the extent of it, so I always give him the benefit of the doubt.”
I think people should extend the same courtesy to Whoopi Goldberg. You have to know that she’s going to be under the microscope for at least the next few weeks while she gets her footing at her new gig. Let’s hope her foot stays firmly planted on the ground (instead of in her mouth) while she does so.