Whoopi Goldberg wants people to know that no matter who ABC hires to replace Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy on “The View,” they will act like “grown-ass women.”
The show’s moderator kicked off Thursday’s show by addressing the media “speculation about a lot of stuff,” including why Shepherd and McCarthy left, as well as who may or may not be coming back.
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“Before we get started, I just have something on my mind. You know there is a lot of speculation about a lot of stuff going on here. Yes, I’m here. We don’t know who’s coming in, but I will tell you this: The respect that I have for the people who work here will not change,” Goldberg said. “I will do my best to respect the audience, to make sure that we bring you ‘The View’ that Barbara Walters wanted you to have, which is women talking about issues. We are not little kids, we are grown ass women.”
Although Goldberg’s comments came a day after Elisabeth Hasselbeck trashed rumors of Rosie O’Donnell’s return to the daytime talk show on “Fox & Friends,” Goldberg didn’t mention her former conservative colleague by name.
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“I’m just tired of people saying, ‘oh, you know if this one comes in, or if this one comes in,’ I don’t argue with people, we have spirited discussions,’” Goldberg continued. “I don’t fight with people, that’s not my way. Quit trying to make me into something I’m not. I’m not a little girl with cat claws. I am not a cat, I am a human being. I am a girl with a fist. And so, I’m just telling y’all, ‘The View’ is going to evolve as it always has. Quit trying to make something happen and let whatever’s going to happen, happen, and we hope you will join us when we come back.”
ABC confirmed on Thursday that “The View” will, in fact, return in September with O’Donnell to re-join the “spirited discussion.”