Whoopi Goldberg asked for sympathy for the Hollywood celebrities who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires this week, saying on her ABC podcast, “The View: Behind the Table,” that the items lost and emotional strife suffered is the same as everyone else’s.
“Yeah, they might be famous – it doesn’t change the fact that somebody has lost their grandparents’ wedding book,” she said in conversation with host Brian Teta, executive producer of “The View.” “It doesn’t just the fact that somebody has lost the cauldron that held somebody’s ashes,” she said, listing possible keepsakes and meaningful mementos that went up in flames in the Pacific Palisades and elsewhere.
“I will say this to you, no matter what you’re hearing, no one wanted these fires. No one wants to be the person that lost everything that they owned,” she said. “You think, ‘Oh, that famous person, they lost a house.’ Yeah, they didn’t just lose their house. They lost a house they worked their tail off to buy and furnish and fill with memories, just like everybody. We all fill our places with memories.”
She also apparently responded to rhetoric that puts the blame for the wildfires’ devastation on one group or another, emphasizing that “this is mother nature,” not any one person’s fault.
“There’s a lot happening. And please don’t blame the people for this. This is mother nature, and nobody was prepared for it,” she said. “And you couldn’t have been prepared for it because what mind could ever think that 75 hundred-thousand buildings were going to burn at the same time?
“My whole neighborhood is gone,” she continued. “The Palisades is gone. It’s insane. It’s insane … So I’m hoping that people will stop listening to people who are blaming other people and just try to figure ways to help.”
Watch a clip from Monday’s podcast in the video below:
On today's podcast, Whoopi Goldberg shares her message to the public on the southern California fires: "They might be famous, it doesn't change the fact that somebody's lost their [family mementos]." Listen here: https://t.co/dj427UNPJG pic.twitter.com/LDzNfTzM0N
— The View (@TheView) January 14, 2025
Among the celebrities who have lost their home in the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires is Goldberg’s longtime peer and one-time collaborator Billy Crystal. Crystal and his wife were longtime Pacific Palisades residents — the comedian even served as its honorary mayor at one point.
“Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here,” Crystal said in a statement to CNN. “Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away.”
“We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this. We pray for the safety of the fire fighters and first responders. The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people and we know in time it will rise again. It is our home.”
