Controversy: February 2008 Archives

Sorry about the lack of posts today everybody. We have had technical difficulties all damned day - the same day as our newsroom is dealing with buyouts and layoffs etc. So, not the best day at The Daily News. But hey, back to the business of blogging. I wanted to pop off a little bit about this whole business of Whoopi Goldberg being left out of a montage of past Oscar hosts on Sunday's telecast.

Whoopi is the first woman to ever host the Oscars and did so FOUR times. Then there is the fact that she is the only black woman to ever host, is an Oscar winner ("Ghost") and was nominated for best actress for her first film "The Color Purple." To not include such a historic figure is really an insult.

Whoopi grew emotional about it on Monday's "The View" when her fellow co-hosts expressed their outrage and support for her. She got up from her desk and gave each woman a kiss on the cheek. She told E! News:

"It moved me that they took time out to talk about it. Colleagues don't usually do that. I was moved. It was a big step for them. They could have ignored it."

Whoopi said she has never before been so emotional on television.

"I tried at first to laugh it off," she said. "They overwhelmed me, and that's the truth. And I didn't know how to deal with it. That is why I had to get up. I was thinking, 'I am not going to let this tear roll down my face.' I got up and kissed everyone to say, 'Thank you and stop!' It was just a lovely gesture on their part."

The next day, Whoopi said she had gotten a call from the ceremony's longtime producer, Gil Cates who she quoted as saying: "'I would have called you Monday but I hadn't slept.' He said, 'Listen, I missed it. I didn't realize it wasn't in there.' ... I love Gil. He was the one who came to me and said, 'I want to put you in as first female host of the Oscars, let's make history.' "