Staff Reports
The spotlight is once again on Whoopi Goldberg, and not for her acting prowess or cutting commentary on daytime television. This time, she’s in hot water over some eyebrow-raising advice featuring none other than a nod to the ol’ cocoa butter and a faux Latin accent. It’s like Whoopi’s embarked on a stand-up routine that forgot to land a punchline—or maybe it’s just that her jokes have taken a detour down a road best left untraveled.
To recap, South Dakota’s Governor Kristi Noem recently announced heavy ICE enforcement at the upcoming Super Bowl, causing quite the stir. Whoopi, seemingly unimpressed, suggested that folks attending the game should don a bit of sun-kissed cocoa butter and layer on the caricature of a Latin accent to outwit the ICE officers. It’s as if she thinks the solution to potential racial profiling is to engage in a little reverse theatrics. Granted, Whoopi is no stranger to controversial opinions, but suggesting attendees play dress-up at such a high-profile event is a new act entirely.
Her co-hosts over at The View, never ones to shy away from a bold—or bewildering—statement, played along. Joy Behar, always ready to dish out the mischief, chimed in with support for Whoopi’s so-called tactical plan. Now, if finding Joy at one’s flank in a controversy isn’t an indicator of a misstep, it’s hard to say what is. It’s almost like Whoopi’s in a sitcom, and the only laugh track playing is in her own mind.
The Supreme Court’s decision about questioning strategies has fueled heated debates across the nation, but the punditry on The View seems more interested in hosting a variety hour than contributing to serious discourse. Perhaps Whoopi and friends are stuck in their own time warp where words like “sensitivity” and “nuance” are relics of a bygone era. Sure, satire can be powerful, but there’s a fine line between wit and whipping up a whirlwind, and Goldberg and her crew have more than their fair share of practice skirting that line.
Ultimately, while Whoopi may have thought her cocoa-butter-laden commentary was the right touch of casual rebellion, it reads more like a page from a playbook that should have been left shelved. This latest episode from daytime’s unconventional troupe would be laughable if it weren’t so tediously out of touch. It seems like this Super Bowl won’t just be a clash on the field, but in the realm of words, where some of TV’s liberal darlings are fumbling the ball.
