The Real Reason Kyle Rittenhouse Intends To Take Legal Action Against Whoopi Goldberg

Kyle Rittenhouse went from accused killer to "right-wing celebrity" overnight, The Guardian argued. Rittenhouse became a household name in August 2020 when, at just 17, he drove across the border from Antioch, Illinois into Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to The New York Times. The teenager, armed with an AR-15, joined a group of men who had vowed to protect businesses amid the protests that erupted after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot by a white police officer in the small Wisconsin town on August 23, 2020, the report detailed.

During the riots, two white men were killed and a third was wounded. Rittenhouse was arrested on six charges, including homicide, the AP detailed. On November 19, 2021, Rittenhouse was found not guilty of all charges after his defense team successfully argued he had acted in self-defense, The New York Times reported. Even before his acquittal, Rittenhouse had become a powerful symbol of the political and social divide in America, a separate New York Times article argued.

Following his highly publicized trial, Rittenhouse emerged as a national hero in the eyes of many, who viewed him as courageous for putting his life on the line to help police protect a city taken by whom they saw as vandals. Since then, Rittenhouse has been a guest on Fox News several times, the first of which took place just days after he was found not guilty. In a recent appearance, Rittenhouse shared he plans to sue high-profile figures, starting with Whoopi Goldberg.

Shortly after Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted in November 2021, Whoopi Goldberg said on "The View" that she still believed he was guilty (via Fox News). "Even all the excuses in the world does not change the fact that three people got shot. Two people were murdered. To me it's murder. I'm sorry," Goldberg said. Now, Rittenhouse is considering filing a lawsuit against the host and actor, he said on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on February 21. "She called me a 'murderer' after I was acquitted by a jury of my peers. She went on to still say that".

Goldberg isn't the only prominent figure Rittenhouse has his eyes on, either. Rittenhouse explained he has launched an initiative, named The Media Accountability Project, in an effort to prevent "lies" from being disseminated in the media in similar cases. "I don't want to see anybody else have to deal with what I went through," he told Carlson. "So I want to hold them accountable for what they did to me."

Rittenhouse said he has compiled a list of "politicians, celebrities [and] athletes," but mentioned only Goldberg and "The Young Turks" founder Cenk Uygur by name. Many celebrities reacted negatively after Rittenhouse's trial, including actors Mia Farrow and Viola Davis, singer Lizzo, "Star Trek" star George Takei and comedian Chelsea Handler. "We're going to hold everybody who lied about me accountable, such as everybody who lied called me a white supremacist," Rittenhouse said.