American Idol Judges Once Had to 'Boycott' The View Due to Whoopi Goldberg’s Offensive Comment

Following Whoopi Goldberg's harsh criticism of the American Idol judges on The View, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie decided to boycott Goldberg's show. The judges of the popular singing show are done with The View since Goldberg accused Bryan, Richie, and Perry of something they had no control over. Goldberg, 67, opined in an episode of The View that American Idol was a cause for the "downfall of society." The news source Radar Online claims the Idol judges were so outraged by this that they responded with a boycott. A source told the outlet, "Katy, Lionel, and Luke are all boycotting The View. You can't blame someone for literally destroying civilization, which is what Whoopi said, and then expect them to sit down and talk with you. The next time the Idol judges do press, they will appear on all ABC's shows — but not The View."

While debating the Netflix documentary Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me, Goldberg and producer Brian Teta got into a somewhat heated argument on The View's daily Hot Topics segment. As the conversation turned to reality TV, Goldberg discussed the impact of American Idol's early seasons. She attributed them to igniting a broad public interest in reality programs that promote elements like harsh criticism, dramatic conflicts, and explosive arguments, according to Deadline. Goldberg said, "People watch these shows because they make them feel better. People like to be judgy, I think that we, as a society, love to watch stuff to judge folks. I've always thought that the beginning of the downfall of society was with, what's the name of that show?" The query from Goldberg was addressed to Brian Teta, who was not on camera. 

"ABC's American Idol?" Teta answered. This served as a polite reminder to Goldberg that The View was shown on the same network as the program she was disparaging. The in-person audience laughed in response to Teta's remark. In response, Goldberg tried to make her stance more clear by saying, "Well, it wasn't always on ABC." Whoopi Goldberg was suspended from ABC last year for two weeks after she said that the Holocaust was "not about race." She later expressed regret for it. According to The U.S. Sun, Kim Godwin, president of ABC News, said back then, "Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments. While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family, and communities."

However, insiders claim that there have been numerous discussions behind the scenes on possibly censoring the controversial hosts of The View, out of concern that if they continue to insult people, the program won't be able to book guests, reports Radar Online.

This article originally appeared on 6.27.24