Add CNN host Don Lemon’s name to the list of people who think Whoopi Goldberg deserves forgiveness.
The “View” moderator is facing a two-week suspension following anti-Semitic remarks she made during an episode of the talk show earlier this week. Goldberg has since apologized, but even those who oppose cancel culture as a rule insist that the standard should be applied fairly to both sides of the political spectrum. That would mean Goldberg losing her job over the things she said.
Lemon, however, believes an apology from the “View” panelist is good enough. “In this environment, we have to be allies to each other,” the “Don Lemon Tonight” host said, according to Fox News. “Sometimes your allies say stupid things. Sometimes they say dumb things. But guess what? They’re your allies. They’re at least on your side and they’re trying to learn.”
“We have to stop trying to cancel people and shouting down our allies,” Lemon continued.
While Lemon did admit that Goldberg’s statements were wrong, he pitched the whole situation as an opportunity to educate and grow.
“Whoopi is an ally to the Jewish community,” Lemon insisted. “She is. She said something that she shouldn’t have said. OK, fine. But… don’t put her in a corner and marginalize her. Use her to the best of your ability to get the conversation and your points across about what’s wrong about that kind of thinking because she’s not the only one who thinks it.”
Plenty of conservatives have spoken out against cancel culture, even specifically related to this situation. But they point to celebrities such as Gina Carano, who lost her job on “The Mandalorian” after making a Holocaust comparison. If those people must be ostracized for saying certain things, then even noted Leftists like Goldberg should be held to the same standard.
“Gina Carano was fired by Disney, which owns ABC over an Instagram post comparing inhumane restrictions and dehumanization to the Nazis’ treatment of Jews,” Ian Miles Cheong shared to Twitter. “Whoopi Goldberg got a two week vacation from ABC for minimizing the Holocaust as ‘y’all whites against whites.’”
Carano wasn’t the only previously canceled celeb whose name got brought up.
“Why is it that Rosanne [Barr] (a Jewish woman) gets canceled for off color remarks but Whoopi’s gets a total pass for antisemitism and downplaying the Holocaust?” Donald Trump Jr. tweeted. “I can’t help but notice that only people on the right face consequences for their mistakes.”
Others pointed out the utter hypocrisy of previous firings compared to Goldberg’s temporary suspension.
“Roseanne Barr: Fired by ABC over a joke tweet Gina Carano: Fired by Disney, who owns ABC over a Holocaust Instagram post Whoopi Goldberg: Dismisses the Holocaust and says extremely racist/anti-Semitic statements on live tv at ABC — crickets,” one Twitter user said. “Hmmm this isn’t weird in the least.”
Lemon made no mention of the other canceled people or whether their jobs should be reinstated. Instead, he praised “The View” host’s “sincere” apology and claimed that was enough.