‘The View’ Cohost Whoopi Goldberg Claims ‘American Idol’ Led To ‘The Downfall Of Society’
At age 67, The View cohost Whoopi Goldberg has seen a lot. She often doesn’t like what she sees, and she has finally discovered the root cause of much of society’s ills: the TV reality show American Idol..
Goldberg was discussing the new Netflix documentary Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me during the show’s daily “Hot Topics” segment.
More from Deadline
'American Idol' 2020 Winner Just Sam Returns To Performing In NYC Subways
Alyssa Farah Griffin Ignores Trump Bait: No 'View' Response To Weekend Tirade
That’s when things took an unexpected turn.
When discussing reality shows, she pointed fingers.
“You have Basketball Wives, you have the Housewives of whatever, all the Bravo shows, giving you the impression that you’re doing something wrong because you’re living your life,” she said.
“People watch these shows because they make them feel better,” she said. “People like to be judgy.”
Goldberg then fished for the perfect metaphor for judgy.
“I think that we, as a society, love to watch stuff to judge folks. I’ve always thought that the beginning of the downfall of society was with, what’s the name of that show?” Goldberg continued, before an off-camera producer suggested, “American Idol?”
“Once we gave people the ability to judge other people, I think we ran amok with it, and it’s gone out of control,” Goldberg said. “They invited the public to decide who that person was, and I feel once we did that, it began us in a cycle which we have not [gotten out of],” she added.
Best of Deadline
2023-24 Awards Season Calendar - Dates For Oscars, Emmys, Major Film Festivals, Guilds & More
2022 The Year In Photos: Courtrooms, Kanye, Twitter, Tom Cruise & Zendaya
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.