'The View's Whoopi Goldberg Admits to Choosing Career Over Her Daughter

On social media, actress and musician Lily Allen's remarks regarding how having children 'ruined her career' have gone viral. The co-hosts of the daytime talk show The View brought up the subject, discussing how it would be possible to combine motherhood with a busy career.

Moderator Whoopi Goldberg had a strong message to reveal, "My kid came before my career, and I chose my career because I knew this would never happen again," she explained. "She didn't always like it, but that is the process of being a parent - they're not supposed to like everything you do." In May 1974, at the age of 19, the Oscar winner gave birth to her only child, Alexandrea Martin. 

As per The Daily Mail, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin then inquired: "And you gave her a better life," to which Goldberg humbly replied: "Well, I hope... but the idea was I never didn't travel with my kid. I mean, even when I wasn't famous, when we went on tour, when she sat in that theatre with me, you know wherever I went, she went. So it depends on what you're able to do when you're able to do it."

Co-host Sunny Hostin added to the topic: "I really think that you do have to prioritize certain things like you can't have everything all at the same time. You can have it at different times and my mother actually sacrificed her career for the first five years of my life and stayed at home with me and I remember that, and I stayed at home with Gabriel for the first year and a half, two years, and I stayed home for about six months with Paloma because at that point we couldn't afford for me to not work."

She continued: "And I have turned down... I was offered my own show but it was in Los Angeles and so I turned that down. So my career has suffered I think, but I don't think my children have and those are the decisions that I made."

Co-host Sara Haines couldn't seem to agree with Allen's remarks: "I can't relate to the life of a popstar or what that means for her career so I'm not addressing her directly, but I do think women can have it all at different times. So what I would say is both my parents had to work, we couldn't afford not to so I grew up in a home where my mom balanced all of it, where she was home in and out but we kind of were with each other and that built a strong family."

"For me, I'm not good at home and by that I mean I find that job so much harder around the clock - for me. It messes with me mentally and so it doesn't mean that everyone always has that choice, from financial imperative to mental health to other things, sometimes you have to do both." Haines elaborated further, "I think the problem here is if you want to take a break and have all those years at home, that could hurt a career, but for me, it was just maternity leave which you just come right back in and you do find ways to balance.

As Sunny said, you have to choose your moments because you're not going to be able to... you always prioritize the family, it's the North Star of everything but you can, I don't think that means you have to ruin a career to have a child." 

Griffin added, "My husband and I talk about this a lot because we're thinking about starting a family soon and he said, "Say yes to everything now because we're not gonna be able to say yes to everything we're asked to do. But I think there used to be this adage where it's like you can be thriving at work, in a relationship, and in your friendships - choose two, but not all three. That's what happens, like something may suffer a little, but it doesn't mean that it's going downhill. You just have to prioritize what's most important and I think family long-term will be the most rewarding," she added. Co-host Joy Behar then concluded by asking the panel: "Do you think that men are asking themselves this question?" to which they all agreed with a: "No."