Whoopi Goldberg Has Big Career News Despite Being Away From 'The View'

New York's Fashion Group International (FGI) is presenting the 67-year-old Whoopi Goldberg with an award. In the month of October, Fashion Group International will be holding a gala at The Plaza Hotel in the heart of Manhattan. It is an annual fundraiser called the FGI Night of Stars, and its purpose is to honor "outstanding individuals" in a number of fields. Whoopi is the recipient of the American Icon Award at this year's event. She plans to attend the ceremony and share the stage with the other awardees.

Musician and Maestro Cares Foundation's co-founder Marc Anthony is among the awardees this year, and he will get the Humanitarian Award. On the same night, Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez (receiving the Fashion Star Award), as well as fashion designer Dennis Basso (awardee of the Lifetime Achievement Award), will be honored. The Fashion Group International is a New York City-based, charitable professional organization serving the fashion industry. FGI has over 5,000 members, and every year they throw a banquet for their most loyal patrons. The public is welcome to attend the yearly gala, although tickets cost a small fortune. A table for 10 might cost as little as $2,000 or as much as $30,000.

Goldberg is one of just 18 people to attain "EGOT status" (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards) for her work in television, music, cinema, and theater. In 2002, she received the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Special for Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel and the Best Musical Tony as a producer of Thoroughly Modern Millie, solidifying her place in theater history. She had already won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1991 for her work in Ghost, as well as a Grammy for Best Coed Recording in 1986 for her work on the album Whoopi Goldberg: The Original Broadway Cast Record.

Before returning on September 5 for season 27, Whoopi and the rest of the members of The View are taking some time off. All of the original cast members were seen in a new promotional film released for the next season. The video shows the ladies going up to the mic and each giving a three-word description of the new season. Except for Goldberg, who hadn't made an appearance yet, the panelists all made witty forecasts about what to expect in the next episodes. Ana Navarro asked at the end of the trailer, "Is Whoopi around?" prompting the actress to peek out from behind some props for a split second. "Catch you all next season. Keep the conversation going!" said Goldberg.

Given that the iconic actress only showed up in the promo video towards the end, many fans were initially speculating if Goldberg would even return to The View. One of Navarro's followers on Instagram commented after she posted the video, "I got scared for a moment cause I didn't see Whoopi. She is a must on the View. Love you Whoopi." The second one wrote, "Don't scare me like that, Ms. Whoopi." Another viewer was quick to jot down, "Whoopi, you scared the crap out of me when I didn’t see you until the end. Come on girlfriend don’t do that."