“The View” once again kicked things off on Wednesday by talking about Sunday night’s Oscars, and the fallout since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage. But this time, Whoopi Goldberg wanted to make her feelings on something clear: no one should be surprised by how Chris Rock kept his cool.
Throughout the week, the panel of women have been among the voices praising Rock for not escalating the situation and for maintaining his professionalism. That said, Whoopi admitted that she’s a bit confused as to why that aspect of the incident became such a big takeaway.
“I wanna ask people why you think he would have indulged in a brawl, on a stage, in front of 3 billion people,” she said. “Why wouldn’t he be the adult?”
The moderator then addressed the point of people who have said that, because the violent exchange was between two prominent Black men, Black people as a group are under unnecessary scrutiny.
“I keep hearing that, and people keep saying, ‘People are gonna think of Black people the wrong way.’ Well, let me tell you, they should be lookin’ at us saying ‘Oh, OK!’ because he didn’t indulge,” Whoopi added.
She continued, “There’s nothing wrong with what he did, so there’s no reason for anybody to have any issue with Black people! You have an issue with Will Smith, and what he did. He doesn’t represent every Black person on the planet. Stop doing that! And assume that the right thing was done because the man knows how to act in public! Chris Rock!”