The Real Reason Whoopi Goldberg Will Be Absent From The View For A While

Whoopi Goldberg will be missing from "The View" for the second time this year. In late January, the veteran actor was suspended from the ABC talk show after making some inflammatory remarks. Goldberg opined that the mass murder of Jews during World War II was not a racial matter and called it "white on white" violence, according to The Guardian. After Anti-Defamation League's Jonathan Greenblatt stated that "the Holocaust was about the Nazi's systematic annihilation of the Jewish people – who they deemed to be an inferior race," Goldberg apologized for her remarks. 

However, the network's president issued a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter, saying, "[T]he culture at ABC News is one that is driven, kind, inclusive, respectful, and transparent. Whoopi's comments do not align with those values." Goldberg was ultimately suspended for two weeks. In her third and final apology, she admitted, "[The Holocaust] is indeed about race, because Hitler and the Nazis considered the Jews to be an inferior race." She continued, "Now, words matter, and mine are no exception. I regret my comments and I stand corrected. I also stand with the Jewish people." 

CNN reported that upon Goldberg's return she took a pragmatic approach, saying, "We're going to keep having tough conversations ... because that's what we've been hired to do." And while Goldberg is back to having those difficult conversations on "The View", Joy Behar has revealed the reason that the actor will be missing in the weeks to come.

Whoopi Goldberg has commented on Will Smith's future as an actor, but neglected to mention that she would also be returning to acting. The Academy Award winner is taking some time away from her daytime job to shoot the Amazon series, "Anansi Boys." On an episode of "The View," Joy Behar told the audience, per New York Post, "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." She confirmed that Goldberg would be "gone for a while."

Goldberg will play the role of the main antagonist, Bird Woman, per Variety. It also seems as if she has been working behind the scenes on this particular project. The "Sarafina" actor said, "I have been a fan of this book for a very long time and ... I did everything I could to be part of it to help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic."

The movie is being shot in Scotland, and Goldberg ate at a local Edinburgh restaurant recently. The Cafe Royal Edinburgh tweeted a photo of Goldberg as she took a selfie with staffers. They captioned the image, "The lovely Whoopi Goldberg paid us a visit today!" Goldberg looked relaxed in a white tee, jeans, and a red plaid shirt — certainly not a bad break from the day job.