Whoopi Goldberg was forced to backtrack after trashing “American Idol” as the “downfall of society” in an awkward on-air exchange with a “View” producer Wednesday.
Goldberg was talking to her co-hosts about a recent Netflix documentary that “dwelled” on the final days of Anna Nicole Smith’s life when she came to the conclusion that “people like to be judgy.”
“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 on the ABC talk show.
“People watch these shows because they make them feel better,” she went on.
“I think that we, as a society, love to watch stuff to judge folks.”
The “Sister Act” star, 67, then revealed the exact point in time that she believes audiences became too quick to pass judgment.
“You know, I’ve always thought that the beginning of the downfall of society was with, um, what’s the name of that show I always tell you that?” she asked, turning to executive producer Brian Teta.
Evidently, Goldberg had already shared her theory with Teta, 46, off-camera, as he responded, “ABC’s ‘American Idol’?”
The studio audience laughed as the producer clearly attempted to remind the EGOT winner that both shows air on the Disney-owned network that pays her salary.
“Well, it wasn’t always on ABC,” Goldberg fired back in a clear attempt to backtrack.
“once we gave people the ability to judge other people, I think we ran amok with it,” she explained. “And it’s gone out of control.”
“American Idol” originally aired on Fox from 2002 to 2016.
It returned to TV screens in 2018 following a brief hiatus — this time on ABC with country singer Luke Bryan, R&B legend Lionel Richie and pop star Katy Perry on the judging panel.
“They invited the public to decide who their person was,” Goldberg continued of the singing competition series.
Teta then made an off-camera gesture to Goldberg, who quipped, “Did you really just do that?”
The producer subsequently encouraged the longtime panelist to note that “Idol” has “gotten better and you like it now.”
“When I was watching it, ABC didn’t have it,” she replied.
“We have it now, and it’s a different show. … ABC knows I feel like this, I’ve told them. It has nothing to do with them; it’s to do with the show.”
“Idol” has been a hot topic this season, with Perry, 38, being accused of “mom-shaming” a contestant and criticizing another’s outfit.
While a source told Pvnew exclusively earlier this month that the “Teenage Dream” singer “never has any ill intent” as a “mentor and a friend to the contestants,” a report claimed Tuesday that she now wants to quit the series.
“Katy feels like [the producers] threw her under the bus,” a source told the Daily Mail, adding that Perry is “being looked at as a nasty reality show judge.”
