When Whoopi Goldberg of 'The View' Demanded '$17 Million' to Appear on Netflix's 'Deep Fake Love'

Editor's note: This article was originally published on September 1, 2023. It has since been updated.

Whoopi Goldberg once revealed the sum she would charge to appear in Deep Fake Love, a Netflix reality dating series, on a recent episode of The View. After hearing that the winners would get just $110,000, the seasoned moderator voiced her displeasure as reported by Decider.

Goldberg kicked out the conversation by outlining the show's premise: people in committed relationships see footage of their partners supposedly cheating and have to decide whether or not the films are genuine or deep fakes. Since the show has been called "psychological torture," the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) winner actress wondered whether Netflix had gone too far.

In this particular episode of The View originally aired on July 27, 2023, the hosts and guest Rachel Lindsay ripped into Deep Fake Love for its premise, expressing shock at the show and discussing the harm that programming like this may do.

Introducing the trending topic and explaining how Deep Fake Love operates, Goldberg said, "Apparently, there is a new dating show on Netflix called Deep Fake Love, where people in serious relationships are shown videos of their partners allegedly cheating and have to guess whether the video is real or deep fake." Joy Behar, the co-host, stated as the crowd gasped, "Well, this is the world we're living in now." 

Goldberg went on to recite from the cue card, "Viewers are calling it psychological torture, and the question is, does it go too far?" In an instant, Sara Haines responded, "Yes, it absolutely does go too far." Alyssa Farah Griffin has spoken out against Deep Fake Love, calling it the work of a "masochist" that serves no purpose. She brought up the fact that the show's contestants are in a hopeless position. Either their spouse is detected cheating, resulting in the end of the relationship, or they wrongly accuse their partner and display a lack of trust. Griffin stressed the risky nature of such a theory.

The fill-in host for Sunny Hostin, former Bachelorette star Rachel Lindsay, was the first to weigh in on the contentious series. After all, one can consider her the most qualified person to comment on these programs considering her history with dating shows.

Lindsay commented on the new Netflix show, saying, " Coming from reality TV, a lot of contestants feel like producers don’t have their best interest. Now, I didn’t feel that way. I felt success from the show. The reason there is this outrage as well is because it plays into those deep fears of no one cares about our love story, no one cares that we're having issues."

Alyssa Farah Griffin joined the conversation and shockingly informed Goldberg of the $110,000 cash reward, prompting Goldberg to remark, "That's it? Damn! A $110k?" Goldberg's simple response to the question of how much she would charge was, "17 million. It would have to be over 10 million, but if you really want some TV give me 17 million dollars and watch me go to work."