WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.810 Welcome back to the deep dive. Today we are taking 00:00:02.810 --> 00:00:05.769 on, well, a monumental task. We're trying to 00:00:05.769 --> 00:00:08.349 chart the career of an artist who doesn't just 00:00:08.349 --> 00:00:10.689 defy categorization. You pretty much invented 00:00:10.689 --> 00:00:14.070 her own. Exactly. We are diving deep into the 00:00:14.070 --> 00:00:17.429 extraordinary, decades -long, and, let's be honest, 00:00:17.570 --> 00:00:20.230 often fiercely controversial life of Whoopi Goldberg. 00:00:20.469 --> 00:00:22.570 It's a huge undertaking. I mean, when you look 00:00:22.570 --> 00:00:24.829 at the source material we have here, her career 00:00:24.829 --> 00:00:27.230 has been relentlessly active. We're talking 1982 00:00:27.230 --> 00:00:29.989 to the present. That's over 40 years. Over 40 00:00:29.989 --> 00:00:33.399 years. and across every single medium you can 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:36.780 think of so our mission today is uh kind of complex 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:39.880 we need to unpack all these layers analyze her 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:43.039 path to achieving ego status the emmy grammy 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:45.679 oscar and tony which is just incredible it's 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:47.539 the grand slam of entertainment yeah and we had 00:00:47.539 --> 00:00:49.960 to examine her impact moving you know so seamlessly 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:53.100 between prestige film highbrow theater ross stand 00:00:53.100 --> 00:00:55.759 -up and then maybe most influentially, the daily 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:58.679 spotlight of daytime TV. The sources don't show 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:00.060 a straight line. They show a series of massive 00:01:00.060 --> 00:01:03.320 risks and seismic shifts. And the hook here is 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:05.760 just undeniable. It's historical. She's one of 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:08.739 only 19 people. And that number includes composers 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:11.700 and directors, not just performers, to get that 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:15.239 competitive ego tee. A tiny, tiny club. But crucially, 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:17.540 she is the first Black woman in history to earn 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:19.959 that distinction. And then there's the sheer 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:22.280 volume. The sources confirm she's been in over 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:26.400 150 films. To balance that kind of output with 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:28.799 that top -tier prestige, well, that's the kind 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:30.299 of career we need to understand. Absolutely. 00:01:30.459 --> 00:01:32.409 Okay. Let's get into it. Let's start with the 00:01:32.409 --> 00:01:35.849 foundation, which is deeply unconventional. So 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:38.150 before the Ego Tea, before The View, before any 00:01:38.150 --> 00:01:40.549 of it, there was Karen Elaine Johnson. Right. 00:01:40.629 --> 00:01:44.409 Born November 13th, 1955 in Manhattan. So as 00:01:44.409 --> 00:01:47.689 of 2025, she's turning 70. And her roots are 00:01:47.689 --> 00:01:50.189 just so deeply set in New York City's working 00:01:50.189 --> 00:01:52.409 class. She grew up in the Chelsea Elliott houses. 00:01:52.650 --> 00:01:55.109 Which is a public housing project. And that background, 00:01:55.189 --> 00:01:57.549 it really provides the critical context for her 00:01:57.549 --> 00:02:00.090 resilience. Yeah. Her self -reliance. She was 00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:02.390 raised. by a single mother, Emma Johnson. A strong 00:02:02.390 --> 00:02:05.370 figure in her life. Absolutely. Emma was a nurse 00:02:05.370 --> 00:02:08.090 and a teacher. Her father, Robert James Johnson 00:02:08.090 --> 00:02:11.789 Jr., was a Baptist clergyman. But her mom was 00:02:11.789 --> 00:02:13.409 really the central force. And we know she was 00:02:13.409 --> 00:02:15.389 raised Catholic, went to St. Columbus Parochial 00:02:15.389 --> 00:02:17.770 School. But, well, the traditional school system 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:19.750 just didn't hold her. She dropped out of high 00:02:19.750 --> 00:02:21.370 school. Dropped out of Washington Irving High 00:02:21.370 --> 00:02:25.310 School. And you can see this, like, anti -establishment 00:02:25.310 --> 00:02:28.259 streak right from the beginning. She wasn't looking 00:02:28.259 --> 00:02:31.240 for validation from conventional systems. She 00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:33.419 was always going to define her own path. And 00:02:33.419 --> 00:02:35.699 the most immediate example of that is her name, 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:38.520 the creation of Whoopi Goldberg. It's one of 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:40.800 the most famous and, frankly, most hilarious 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:43.300 anecdotes in Hollywood. It really is. The Whoopi 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:46.560 part. It's from a Whoopi cushion. It's perfect. 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:49.199 It just encapsulates her whole vibe. Unapologetic, 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:51.340 a little bit shocking, totally down to earth. 00:02:51.539 --> 00:02:53.539 She said that when you're on stage, you know, 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:55.319 for a long time, things happen. You can't always 00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:57.680 run to the bathroom. Exactly. She said, if you 00:02:57.680 --> 00:02:59.520 get a little gassy, you've got to let it go. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:02.039 So people started saying to her, you're like 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:03.939 a whoopee cushion. And that's where the name 00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:06.400 came from. It's just the ultimate statement of 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.039 owning the uncomfortable, which is really the 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:10.259 foundation of her comedy. But then you couple 00:03:10.259 --> 00:03:14.020 that humorous nickname. With the surname Goldberg. 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:16.319 And that's where things get really complex culturally. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:18.819 This is where the sources force us to look at 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:20.780 this tension between a self -defined identity 00:03:20.780 --> 00:03:25.080 and what's on paper genealogically. Right. Because 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.460 in 2011, she was very public about it. She said 00:03:27.460 --> 00:03:29.360 Goldberg was part of her family, part of her 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:32.060 heritage. She declared, I just know I am Jewish. 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:34.620 I practice nothing. She even challenged the premise, 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:37.139 saying that if she were a white actress, people 00:03:37.139 --> 00:03:39.050 wouldn't question her. Which is a really powerful 00:03:39.050 --> 00:03:41.569 point about the boxes we try to put black artists 00:03:41.569 --> 00:03:44.150 in. But then the narrative gets more complicated, 00:03:44.310 --> 00:03:47.250 doesn't it? It does. When we bring in the genealogical 00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:50.050 research, the sources point to the work of Henry 00:03:50.050 --> 00:03:53.129 Louis Gates Jr. in his 2006 PBS documentary, 00:03:53.550 --> 00:03:55.789 African American Lives. And what did he find? 00:03:56.110 --> 00:03:58.169 That research confirmed all of her traceable 00:03:58.169 --> 00:04:00.590 ancestors were black. None were named Goldberg. 00:04:01.689 --> 00:04:04.050 And the DNA results actually traced her ancestry 00:04:04.050 --> 00:04:07.349 specifically to the Papal and Beoti people of 00:04:07.349 --> 00:04:09.990 modern -day Guinea -Bissau. So you have this 00:04:09.990 --> 00:04:13.569 really rich documented history. Her great -great 00:04:13.569 --> 00:04:15.650 -grandparents, William and Elsie Washington, 00:04:16.029 --> 00:04:18.790 homesteading land in Florida after the Civil 00:04:18.790 --> 00:04:22.149 War, which was incredibly rare. A strong documented 00:04:22.149 --> 00:04:25.810 African -American lineage. So why Goldberg? Well, 00:04:25.910 --> 00:04:28.470 one account suggests it was her mother, Emma. 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:31.339 who felt their family name wasn't Jewish enough 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:34.079 for her to become a star. Which is a pretty cynical 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:36.920 but maybe practical view of show business in 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:39.300 the 70s and 80s. And Whoopi herself has said 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:41.019 an agent once tried to get her to change her 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:43.980 name to something more black, like Puddin'. She 00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:47.060 refused. So she stuck with Goldberg. It's this 00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:49.980 absolute rejection of external labels, whatever 00:04:49.980 --> 00:04:52.439 they are, in favor of a self -created identity. 00:04:52.819 --> 00:04:55.060 And that independence, it seems like it was forged 00:04:55.060 --> 00:04:57.660 by necessity. Before she was Whoopi, she was 00:04:57.660 --> 00:04:59.720 Karen Johnson, moving across the country, first 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:02.579 to San Diego, then Berkeley. And the jobs she 00:05:02.579 --> 00:05:05.019 worked. It's an incredible list. It really reads 00:05:05.019 --> 00:05:06.600 like a character development workshop, doesn't 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:08.720 it? She was a waitress, a bank teller. And famously, 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.720 a mortuary cosmetologist, applying makeup to 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:14.180 the deceased. And a bricklayer. I mean, these 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:16.360 aren't just quirky details. They showed this 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:18.959 period of survival and self -training where she 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:22.810 was engaging with every level of society. that 00:05:22.810 --> 00:05:25.329 absolutely fueled the characters she would later 00:05:25.329 --> 00:05:27.750 create. And all during this time, she's honing 00:05:27.750 --> 00:05:30.089 her craft. She joins an avant -garde theater 00:05:30.089 --> 00:05:32.550 troupe, the Blake Street Hawkeyes, and she's 00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:34.740 teaching acting. Which is amazing. The sources 00:05:34.740 --> 00:05:36.699 say a young Courtney Love was one of her students. 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:39.040 Incredible. So she's building the artist while 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.860 living this really tough reality. But the sources 00:05:41.860 --> 00:05:45.439 also remind us this period involved, well, immense 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:49.560 personal trauma. A huge trauma. In 1978 in San 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:51.959 Diego, she witnessed a midair collision of two 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.720 planes. It was so shocking that she developed 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:58.279 a profound fear of flying and PTSD. And that's 00:05:58.279 --> 00:06:00.500 such a crucial counterpoint to her public image, 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:03.160 right? This larger -than -life, hilarious personality 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:05.220 was built not just through hard work, but through 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:07.740 overcoming some really severe psychological hurdles. 00:06:07.939 --> 00:06:09.980 That internal fortitude is what allowed her to 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:12.319 handle what came next. That is a perfect bridge, 00:06:12.579 --> 00:06:15.240 because all that background, the street smarts, 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:18.079 the pain, the resilience, it all fed her art. 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:20.699 But she channeled it through classical discipline. 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:23.620 Right. Before her solo shows blew up, she actually 00:06:23.620 --> 00:06:26.329 sought out formal training. She studied under 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:29.009 the legendary acting teacher Uta Hagen at the 00:06:29.009 --> 00:06:31.750 HB studio in New York. And that Uta Hagen training 00:06:31.750 --> 00:06:33.990 is so important, isn't it? It's critical. It 00:06:33.990 --> 00:06:36.069 shows she wasn't just relying on raw talent. 00:06:36.290 --> 00:06:38.790 She was integrating that observational skill 00:06:38.790 --> 00:06:41.529 she learned on the streets and in those odd jobs 00:06:41.529 --> 00:06:44.269 with classical technique. That's what made her 00:06:44.269 --> 00:06:46.819 stage work so revolutionary. And that work started 00:06:46.819 --> 00:06:48.759 getting national attention really quickly in 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:51.899 the early 80s with her one woman shows. She started 00:06:51.899 --> 00:06:54.680 with Moms, a tribute to the great black comedian 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:57.680 Moms Mabley. And then came The Spoop Show in 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:01.060 1983. And this was the turning point. It wasn't 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:03.420 just stand -up. It was theater. It was these 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:06.339 incredibly complex character monologues. Like 00:07:06.339 --> 00:07:09.620 Fontaine. Exactly. Fontaine or this surfer chick 00:07:09.620 --> 00:07:13.579 whose kind of casual racism exposed these much 00:07:13.579 --> 00:07:16.420 deeper issues. She could embody anyone, different 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:19.240 ages, genders, identities. It proved her whole 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:21.560 philosophy that she was an actor who could play 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:24.379 anything. And that show gets to Broadway, which 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:28.019 was a huge deal, thanks entirely to a massive 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:30.060 endorsement from one of the most respected directors 00:07:30.060 --> 00:07:32.779 out there, Mike Nichols. You cannot overstate 00:07:32.779 --> 00:07:34.779 the importance of Mike Nichols. He discovered 00:07:34.779 --> 00:07:37.000 her in San Francisco. The story is that he was 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.120 so moved by her performance, he literally burst 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.660 into tears. Wow. He got it immediately. And he 00:07:41.660 --> 00:07:44.019 became her mentor. helped transfer the show to 00:07:44.019 --> 00:07:47.740 Broadway in 1984, retitled simply Whoopi Goldberg. 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:50.319 This was the establishment giving its stamp of 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:52.680 approval to her fiercely unconventional work. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:54.860 And that paid off almost instantly. The recording 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:57.519 of that show won her the Grammy Award for Best 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.540 Comedy Album in 1986. The first piece of the 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:03.519 ego puzzle. And a major historical moment. She 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:06.139 became the first black female comedian ever to 00:08:06.139 --> 00:08:08.920 win that Grammy. And then the jump from that 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:12.319 Grammy -winning stage show... To a leading role 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:15.959 in a huge Hollywood film. It happened almost 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:18.220 overnight. Thanks to Steven Spielberg. It's a 00:08:18.220 --> 00:08:20.240 completely unique trajectory. She didn't work 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:22.060 her way up through small parts. She went straight 00:08:22.060 --> 00:08:24.420 to the top. Spielberg saw her perform at the 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:26.660 comedy store. And saw the dramatic depth under 00:08:26.660 --> 00:08:29.759 all that comedy. And cast her. Just like that. 00:08:29.819 --> 00:08:33.279 In the color purple. 1985, her debut film role 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:35.919 playing Celie, and the reaction to her performance 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:38.419 was just immediate and overwhelming. Roger Ebert 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:41.559 called it one of the most amazing debut performances 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:45.000 in movie history. And the awards followed. She 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.860 won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama. 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:50.919 Think about that. She was the first black actress 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:53.700 ever to win that specific category. On her first 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:56.059 film. On her very first film. It got her the 00:08:56.059 --> 00:08:58.139 Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She 00:08:58.139 --> 00:09:01.179 was in the Pantheon. But then the next phase 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:03.600 is a little harder to analyze. After that huge 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:06.419 prestige debut, she becomes, as the sources say, 00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:10.799 the busiest female star from 85 to 88. She makes 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:14.059 seven films. Jump Jack Flash, Burglar, Fatal 00:09:14.059 --> 00:09:16.700 Beauty. Right. And many of them were commercial 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:19.399 flops. So the question is, why did Hollywood 00:09:19.399 --> 00:09:22.320 keep casting her so relentlessly? That's a great 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.200 question. And I think the answer is that the 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:27.379 prestige from The Color Purple was like a shield. 00:09:27.960 --> 00:09:30.320 It insulated her. So even if the movies themselves 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.919 weren't great, her presence, her Oscar nomination, 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:35.759 it guaranteed a certain level of interest. She 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:38.100 was bankable in terms of publicity, even if the 00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:40.639 scripts were weak. And while this was happening, 00:09:40.779 --> 00:09:43.059 she was also cementing her place in the mainstream 00:09:43.059 --> 00:09:46.539 by co -hosting Comic Relief on HBO. With Robin 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:48.639 Williams and Billy Crystal. An iconic pairing. 00:09:49.070 --> 00:09:51.850 And that wasn't just a gig. It was a high -profile 00:09:51.850 --> 00:09:54.529 platform. It showed she could stand shoulder 00:09:54.529 --> 00:09:57.110 to shoulder with the biggest stars in comedy, 00:09:57.309 --> 00:09:59.509 bridging that gap between her theater background 00:09:59.509 --> 00:10:02.649 and her new film star status. And all of that 00:10:02.649 --> 00:10:05.029 nonstop work set the stage perfectly for her 00:10:05.029 --> 00:10:08.250 true mainstream explosion in 1990. The role that 00:10:08.250 --> 00:10:10.730 changed everything. Otome Brown in Ghost. It 00:10:10.730 --> 00:10:13.289 was the perfect role. It blended her comedic 00:10:13.289 --> 00:10:15.690 timing, her observational skills with the emotional 00:10:15.690 --> 00:10:18.539 depth she showed in The Color Purple. And it 00:10:18.539 --> 00:10:21.659 secured her icon status. She won the Academy 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:23.879 Award for Best Supporting Actress. The historical 00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:26.779 significance there is just immense. She became 00:10:26.779 --> 00:10:29.120 only the second black woman to win an acting 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:31.620 Oscar, period. Yeah. After Hattie McDaniel in 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:34.419 1940. And the first black woman to win Best Supporting 00:10:34.419 --> 00:10:37.259 Actress in nearly 50 years. And it wasn't a fluke. 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:39.460 She won the BAFTA and the Golden Globe for that 00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:42.200 role, too. The character was so beloved, Premiere 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:45.059 magazine later named Otome Brown, one of the 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:47.980 top 100 best film characters ever. Yeah. So now 00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:51.940 she has the Oscar and the 1990s become about 00:10:51.940 --> 00:10:55.220 her transformation from a film star into this. 00:10:56.419 --> 00:10:58.820 universal multi -genre presence. She was actively 00:10:58.820 --> 00:11:01.059 crossing every media border she could find. And 00:11:01.059 --> 00:11:02.840 there's no better proof of that than her jumping 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:04.840 into the world of Star Trek. Right. Taking on 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:06.879 the recurring role of Guinan in Star Trek, The 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:09.139 Next Generation. This was not a typical move 00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:11.059 for an Oscar -nominated actress. Not at all. 00:11:11.139 --> 00:11:14.500 She was embracing fan culture, genre TV, and 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:16.820 it's a role she loves so much she reprised it 00:11:16.820 --> 00:11:19.019 in films and then decades later in Star Trek, 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:21.659 Picard. After Patrick Stewart publicly invited 00:11:21.659 --> 00:11:24.330 her on The View. It shows her understanding of 00:11:24.330 --> 00:11:26.129 modern celebrity. It's not just about prestige. 00:11:26.210 --> 00:11:28.769 It's about connection with an audience. And then 00:11:28.769 --> 00:11:31.110 commercially, she just hits this absolute peak 00:11:31.110 --> 00:11:34.490 with Sister Act. A global phenomenon. The first 00:11:34.490 --> 00:11:38.230 one, in 1992, grossed over $200 million. Which 00:11:38.230 --> 00:11:40.929 is huge. And that success translated directly 00:11:40.929 --> 00:11:43.769 into earning power. For the sequel, Sister Act 00:11:43.769 --> 00:11:47.059 2, Her salary was estimated between $7 and $12 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:49.759 million. Which, the sources confirm, likely made 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:51.539 her the highest paid actress in the world at 00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:54.480 that time. That's real A -list power. Not just 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:57.700 critical acclaim, but economic clout. And that 00:11:57.700 --> 00:12:00.000 power let her diversify into other areas, like 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:01.980 voice work. She becomes a major voice talent. 00:12:02.179 --> 00:12:04.600 Shenzi the hyena and the lion king. Scratch in 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:06.820 Toy Story 3. She was building this career that 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:08.940 was almost critic -proof because she was just 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:12.039 everywhere. Culturally ubiquitous. And that mainstream 00:12:12.039 --> 00:12:14.340 acceptance led to one of the biggest prestige 00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:16.960 gigs in entertainment, hosting the Academy Awards. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:20.200 In 1994, she becomes the first black woman ever 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:23.259 to host the Oscars. That single moment says so 00:12:23.259 --> 00:12:25.779 much about her acceptance by the industry, not 00:12:25.779 --> 00:12:27.919 just as an actor, but as a voice for Hollywood 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:30.259 itself. And it wasn't a one -off. She hosted 00:12:30.259 --> 00:12:35.000 four times, 94, 96, 99, 2002. And she's widely 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:37.100 regarded as one of the best hosts ever. That 00:12:37.100 --> 00:12:40.159 comfort with live high -stakes TV. It was the 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:42.299 perfect training for what was to come. It really 00:12:42.299 --> 00:12:44.879 was. Which brings us to the core of this deep 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:47.399 dive, the ego completion. She gets it done in 00:12:47.399 --> 00:12:51.860 2002, one of only 19 people. But we need to really 00:12:51.860 --> 00:12:53.879 break down how she did it because her path is 00:12:53.879 --> 00:12:56.399 unique. It is. And we should be clear, these 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:59.179 are all competitive awards, not honorary, all 00:12:59.179 --> 00:13:01.840 four. The chronology tells the story. Okay, so 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:04.240 first was the Grammy. The Grammy is 1986 for 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:06.230 her comedy album. That shows her brilliance as 00:13:06.230 --> 00:13:08.370 a writer and performer. Then the Oscar. The Oscar 00:13:08.370 --> 00:13:10.789 in 1991 for Ghost, confirming her mainstream 00:13:10.789 --> 00:13:14.649 appeal. And then the Tony in 2002. And this is 00:13:14.649 --> 00:13:16.549 the crucial part. It wasn't for acting, was it? 00:13:16.690 --> 00:13:19.190 No. It was as a producer of the best musical, 00:13:19.350 --> 00:13:21.509 Thoroughly Modern Millie. Okay, let's stop on 00:13:21.509 --> 00:13:23.929 that. A producer Tony. For you, the listener, 00:13:24.110 --> 00:13:26.049 why is that distinction so important? What does 00:13:26.049 --> 00:13:29.450 that signify? It signifies control. It signifies 00:13:29.450 --> 00:13:32.409 business acumen. And acting Tony proves you've 00:13:32.409 --> 00:13:35.169 mastered performance. A producer Tony means you 00:13:35.169 --> 00:13:37.409 mastered the business of the show. You got the 00:13:37.409 --> 00:13:39.149 financing. You managed the team. You brought 00:13:39.149 --> 00:13:41.590 a massive production to Broadway. It shows she 00:13:41.590 --> 00:13:43.889 shifted from being a hired talent to owning the 00:13:43.889 --> 00:13:46.450 content. That is a powerful description. And 00:13:46.450 --> 00:13:48.529 the final piece. The final piece was the Emmy. 00:13:48.710 --> 00:13:51.149 She actually has two. But the one that sealed 00:13:51.149 --> 00:13:54.250 the EJT was a daytime Emmy in 2002 for producing 00:13:54.250 --> 00:13:57.620 the documentary Beyond Tara. The Extraordinary 00:13:57.620 --> 00:13:59.960 Life of Hattie McDaniel. So she wins her Ego 00:13:59.960 --> 00:14:01.919 Tea clinching award for producing a doc about 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:04.460 the very first black Oscar winner. That feels 00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:06.460 intentional. Oh, absolutely. It links her own 00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:09.059 legacy directly to cinematic history. But the 00:14:09.059 --> 00:14:12.620 key fact remains. She is the first black woman 00:14:12.620 --> 00:14:15.139 in history to achieve the competitive Ego Tea. 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:17.899 Complete dominance. And even with all that success, 00:14:18.139 --> 00:14:20.200 she never abandoned the stage. She kept going 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:22.820 back. She replaced Nathan Lane in the port. A 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:24.379 funny thing happened on the way to the forum 00:14:24.379 --> 00:14:27.179 on Broadway. Stepping into a male lead role in 00:14:27.179 --> 00:14:29.720 a Sondheim musical. I mean, again, proving her 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:31.440 point about being an actor who can play anything. 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:35.360 And then in 2003, she starred in August Wilson's 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:38.419 Mulraney's Black Bottom. To go from Sondheim 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:41.600 comedy to the gravitas of August Wilson, that's 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:44.659 just astonishing range. And the sources highlight 00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:47.379 her recent stage return. After a 15 -year break, 00:14:47.460 --> 00:14:49.879 she comes back as Miss Hannigan in Annie. And 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:51.779 the reviews were ecstatic. The New York Times 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:54.120 called her a holiday gift. She can still command 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:56.580 the medium that started it all. So if the 90s 00:14:56.580 --> 00:14:58.860 were about film dominance, the last, what, 15 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:01.059 -plus years have been completely defined by her 00:15:01.059 --> 00:15:03.600 role as moderator of The View. A role she took 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:06.379 in 2007, replacing Rosie O'Donnell. And this 00:15:06.379 --> 00:15:09.039 show, it became her central platform. It magnified 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:11.820 her voice, her celebrity, and, well, her capacity 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:13.919 for controversy. Her debut was a big deal for 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:16.950 daytime TV. Drew 3 .4. million viewers. Ratings 00:15:16.950 --> 00:15:19.970 jumped 7%. She quickly established herself as 00:15:19.970 --> 00:15:21.909 the anchor guiding the conversation. And that 00:15:21.909 --> 00:15:24.470 command earned her and the other co -hosts a 00:15:24.470 --> 00:15:26.590 daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 00:15:26.590 --> 00:15:30.720 2009. But the format of that show. daily live 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:33.360 unscripted debate on really sensitive topics 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.639 it exposed her to a level of scrutiny her film 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:39.480 career never did and we have to navigate this 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:42.740 part carefully yes based on the sources it's 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:45.039 crucial we report these incidents impartially 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:47.820 it's about analyzing the pattern of her remarks 00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:50.059 and the public's reaction let's start with an 00:15:50.059 --> 00:15:53.799 early one before the view even 2004 at a fundraiser 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:56.940 for john kerry she made a a very provocative 00:15:56.940 --> 00:16:00.309 sexual joke about president George W. Bush. The 00:16:00.309 --> 00:16:03.269 fallout was immediate and financial. Slimfast, 00:16:03.450 --> 00:16:05.909 who she was a spokesperson for, dropped her instantly. 00:16:06.450 --> 00:16:09.070 It was an early warning sign that her raw stand 00:16:09.070 --> 00:16:11.289 -up style of humor carried real professional 00:16:11.289 --> 00:16:14.029 risks. And then came this series of comments 00:16:14.029 --> 00:16:15.830 on The View that became massive news stories. 00:16:15.950 --> 00:16:17.429 There's a pattern to them, isn't there? There 00:16:17.429 --> 00:16:19.669 is. It's often characterized by this demand for 00:16:19.669 --> 00:16:23.230 legal proof or a reliance on a kind of street 00:16:23.230 --> 00:16:25.929 -level rationalization. Like in 2007 with Michael 00:16:25.929 --> 00:16:27.629 Vick's dogfighting case, her initial defense 00:16:27.629 --> 00:16:29.710 was that it was a result of his cultural upbringing. 00:16:30.029 --> 00:16:33.830 Which drew huge backlash. Then in 2009, she's 00:16:33.830 --> 00:16:35.669 talking about Roman Polanski's rape conviction, 00:16:35.870 --> 00:16:38.450 and she says it wasn't rape rape. A phrase that 00:16:38.450 --> 00:16:41.789 just exploded. Exploded. She later clarified 00:16:41.789 --> 00:16:43.809 she was trying to distinguish between statutory 00:16:43.809 --> 00:16:46.789 and forcible rape, a legal nuance that was totally 00:16:46.789 --> 00:16:50.690 lost. But using language like rape rape is a 00:16:50.690 --> 00:16:52.950 classic example of her bringing this unfiltered 00:16:52.950 --> 00:16:55.850 street smart rhetoric to a very sensitive topic. 00:16:56.049 --> 00:16:58.370 And with the Bill Cosby allegations, her position 00:16:58.370 --> 00:17:00.929 actually shifted over time. It did. Initially, 00:17:00.950 --> 00:17:03.370 she defended him, asking why he hadn't been arrested 00:17:03.370 --> 00:17:05.509 or tried if the allegations were true. She's 00:17:05.509 --> 00:17:08.910 prioritizing due process. But in 2015, she completely 00:17:08.910 --> 00:17:11.230 reversed her stance. She said the information 00:17:11.230 --> 00:17:15.109 emerging kind of points to guilt. and she explicitly 00:17:15.109 --> 00:17:17.089 supported removing the statute of limitations 00:17:17.089 --> 00:17:19.630 for rape. So she showed she was willing to change 00:17:19.630 --> 00:17:22.029 her mind when faced with new information. Absolutely. 00:17:22.549 --> 00:17:24.549 Which brings us to the controversy that actually 00:17:24.549 --> 00:17:27.430 led to a suspension. The Holocaust comments in 00:17:27.430 --> 00:17:30.450 2022. Right. She said on air that the Holocaust 00:17:30.450 --> 00:17:34.349 was not based on race, but was about man's inhumanity 00:17:34.349 --> 00:17:37.250 to man, adding it was white people doing it to 00:17:37.250 --> 00:17:39.769 white people. The backlash was immediate and 00:17:39.769 --> 00:17:42.500 widespread. Jewish organizations pointed out 00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:45.099 that Nazi ideology was entirely based on racial 00:17:45.099 --> 00:17:48.599 classification. She apologized on Twitter, then 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:51.200 on air. But then, in an interview later that 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:53.880 day, she seemed to double down on the idea. which 00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:56.880 complicated her apology. And ABC suspended her 00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:59.799 from The View for two weeks. It was a clear signal 00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:02.599 that even an ego winner isn't immune to corporate 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:05.200 consequences for crossing certain cultural lines. 00:18:05.500 --> 00:18:07.460 But what often gets lost in these flare -ups 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:10.839 is her decades of consistent activism. Relentless 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:13.319 activism. She's a huge advocate for human rights, 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:16.339 moderating panels at the UN. Her commitment to 00:18:16.339 --> 00:18:19.079 LGBTQ plus rights goes all the way back to the 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:22.329 1987 march on Washington. She won the Gilead 00:18:22.329 --> 00:18:25.029 Vanguard Award in 1999. She's been involved with 00:18:25.029 --> 00:18:27.509 Cyndi Lauper's Give a Damn campaign, spoken out 00:18:27.509 --> 00:18:29.650 for trans rights, spoken at the Women's March. 00:18:29.829 --> 00:18:31.769 And then just to keep everyone on their toes, 00:18:31.930 --> 00:18:33.849 she stated in 2012 that she is a member of the 00:18:33.849 --> 00:18:36.170 NRA. Which makes her impossible to categorize 00:18:36.170 --> 00:18:38.410 politically. She just refuses to fit in a box. 00:18:38.569 --> 00:18:40.849 And that complexity extends to her business ventures. 00:18:40.869 --> 00:18:43.299 She's become an entrepreneur. Especially in the 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:45.460 cannabis industry, she co -founded Whoopi and 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:48.619 Maya in 2016. A company focused specifically 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:51.579 on medical cannabis products for women with menstrual 00:18:51.579 --> 00:18:54.920 cramps. It's based on her own experience. The 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:57.900 venture ended in 2020, but she immediately pivoted. 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:01.380 Launched a new line in 2021 called Emma and Clyde, 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:03.660 named for her late mother and brother. It shows 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:05.799 she learns from market failures and ties her 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:08.259 personal history to her business. And she's still 00:19:08.259 --> 00:19:11.950 innovating. Just in June 2025, she co -founded 00:19:11.950 --> 00:19:15.970 AWSN, an all -women sports network. It just confirms 00:19:15.970 --> 00:19:17.789 she's still using that producer's mind, remember 00:19:17.789 --> 00:19:20.390 that, Tony Nguyen, to create new platforms for 00:19:20.390 --> 00:19:22.779 underserved audiences. When you delve into her 00:19:22.779 --> 00:19:25.359 personal life, you see that same theme of independence, 00:19:25.779 --> 00:19:27.980 a rejection of traditional structures. She's 00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:30.059 been married three times. And Alvin Martin, David 00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:32.420 Klassen, and Lyle Trachtenberg. But what's fascinating 00:19:32.420 --> 00:19:34.880 is how she talks about it now. She's very clear. 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.720 No plans to marry again. She believes some people, 00:19:37.859 --> 00:19:40.579 including herself, are just not meant to be married. 00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:42.599 She even said in an interview she was never in 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:45.339 love with the men she married. Her real commitment, 00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:48.420 she says, is to her family and her work, not 00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:51.369 a spouse, which just reinforces that. narrative 00:19:51.369 --> 00:19:53.849 of self -reliance we've seen all along. We also 00:19:53.849 --> 00:19:56.029 have to talk about the Ted Danson blackface incident 00:19:56.029 --> 00:19:59.210 in 1993. This was a massive cultural flashpoint. 00:19:59.349 --> 00:20:02.230 A huge one. It was at the Friars Club roast for 00:20:02.230 --> 00:20:05.690 him and he was her partner at the time. He appeared 00:20:05.690 --> 00:20:08.190 in full blackface telling racially charged jokes. 00:20:08.369 --> 00:20:11.490 The backlash was, you know, immediate and fierce. 00:20:11.710 --> 00:20:13.630 And what made it so complicated was Whoopi's 00:20:13.630 --> 00:20:16.089 defense of him. Not only did she stand by him, 00:20:16.130 --> 00:20:18.490 she admitted she wrote some of the jokes. She 00:20:18.490 --> 00:20:21.640 insisted the context of a roast. made it acceptable. 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:24.599 How is that interpreted? In two completely opposite 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:27.779 ways. To some, it was betrayal. To her, it seemed 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:29.880 to be a defense of artistic freedom, of pushing 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:31.980 boundaries with comedy, just like she did in 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:34.759 the spook show. The fallout was negative, but 00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:37.460 she prioritized her creative choice and her partner 00:20:37.460 --> 00:20:40.039 over public opinion. And through all the drama, 00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:42.200 her focus has remained on her family. She has 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:44.859 one daughter, Alexandria Martin. Who is an actress 00:20:44.859 --> 00:20:47.319 and producer. And Whoopi is now a grandmother 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:49.940 of three and a great -grandmother. She's also 00:20:49.940 --> 00:20:52.400 been incredibly candid about her personal struggles, 00:20:52.579 --> 00:20:54.799 which is rare for a celebrity of her stature. 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:57.900 Very candid. Admitting she smoked marijuana right 00:20:57.900 --> 00:21:00.359 before accepting her Oscar for Ghost. Talking 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:02.799 about being a functioning drug addict. And she's 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:05.220 open about her health. She has dyslexia, which 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:07.880 makes her career even more remarkable. And in 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:10.200 2019, she had a near fatal battle with pneumonia 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:13.980 and sepsis. Doctors gave her a 30 % chance of 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:16.440 survival. She is a survivor in the most literal 00:21:16.440 --> 00:21:18.779 sense. And she's been a powerful voice on a... 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:20.960 abortion rights, tying it directly to her own 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:24.000 history. She revealed she had six or seven abortions 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:27.140 by age 25, including one with a coat hanger when 00:21:27.140 --> 00:21:30.299 she was 14. And she continues to speak out, even 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:33.200 making provocative religious claims, saying God 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:35.319 would support abortion rights because God gave 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:37.920 women freedom of choice. She's always comfortable 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:40.279 challenging orthodoxies. When you look at her 00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:43.059 influences, you see that same breadth. Richard 00:21:43.059 --> 00:21:46.900 Pryor, George Carlin, Moms Mabley. But also Sidney 00:21:46.900 --> 00:21:49.769 Poitier and Herb Elfante. But the most important 00:21:49.769 --> 00:21:51.869 origin story is the one Nichelle Nichols told, 00:21:51.990 --> 00:21:54.970 about a young whoopee seeing Uhura on Star Trek 00:21:54.970 --> 00:21:57.750 and yelling, Mama, there's a black lady on television 00:21:57.750 --> 00:22:00.380 and she ain't no maid. That moment, seeing a 00:22:00.380 --> 00:22:02.400 black woman in a position of power, it seems 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:04.720 like it informed her entire career. Absolutely. 00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:07.200 It leads directly to her philosophy about being 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:10.079 an actor, not an actress. Her famous quote, an 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:11.980 actress can only play a woman. I'm an actor. 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:14.960 I can play anything. And she has spent 40 years 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:17.819 proving that point. Her legacy is cemented, named 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:20.190 a Disney legend. the first African -American 00:22:20.190 --> 00:22:22.529 female to win the Mark Twain Prize for American 00:22:22.529 --> 00:22:25.369 Humor and, of course, the Ego Tea. She's one 00:22:25.369 --> 00:22:27.349 of the most decorated and independently -minded 00:22:27.349 --> 00:22:29.869 figures in entertainment history. Hashtag, tag, 00:22:29.890 --> 00:22:32.490 tag, tag, outro. So we've traced Karen Johnson 00:22:32.490 --> 00:22:35.450 from her start as a bricklayer and mortuary cosmetologist 00:22:35.450 --> 00:22:37.990 in New York public housing to becoming the icon 00:22:37.990 --> 00:22:42.109 Whoopi Goldberg, a trailblazing Ego winner, a 00:22:42.109 --> 00:22:45.630 four -time Oscar host, and the, well, the lightning 00:22:45.630 --> 00:22:48.289 rod voice of daytime television. And what we've 00:22:48.289 --> 00:22:50.470 learned today is that she's a relentless artist 00:22:50.470 --> 00:22:53.569 who mastered every single medium. And she did 00:22:53.569 --> 00:22:55.490 it by insisting on her own definitions of her 00:22:55.490 --> 00:22:58.049 name, her roles, her public statements. Her career 00:22:58.049 --> 00:23:00.869 model is one of pure self -definition and perseverance. 00:23:01.289 --> 00:23:03.349 So what does this all mean for you? We've seen 00:23:03.349 --> 00:23:06.029 her move from serious award -winning drama like 00:23:06.029 --> 00:23:08.410 The Color Purple to broad comedy like Sister 00:23:08.410 --> 00:23:11.970 Act to polarizing unscripted debate on The View. 00:23:12.529 --> 00:23:14.829 Considering that Constant high wire act, her 00:23:14.829 --> 00:23:17.150 reliance on raw, sometimes offensive honesty. 00:23:17.509 --> 00:23:20.309 What singular defining quality allows Whoopi 00:23:20.309 --> 00:23:22.690 Goldberg to continually reinvent herself while 00:23:22.690 --> 00:23:24.789 remaining one of the most decorated and polarizing 00:23:24.789 --> 00:23:27.890 figures in American entertainment? What does 00:23:27.890 --> 00:23:30.930 her unique staying power tell us about the boundaries 00:23:30.930 --> 00:23:33.430 or maybe the lack of boundaries for celebrity 00:23:33.430 --> 00:23:35.849 in the 21st century? That's a deep dive that 00:23:35.849 --> 00:23:37.609 will keep you thinking. We'll see you next time.