Whoopi Goldberg Loses It Over Bowen Yang’s Unfiltered Crack About JD Vance And The Pope

Whoopi Goldberg fell over in laughter when fellow comedian Bowen Yang floated the notion that JD Vance was part of what one might call Pope Francis’ final benediction.

Pope Francis died on Monday at the age of 88, having one day earlier — on Easter Sunday, no less — met with Vance in the Vatican.

And it was Bowen’s deadpan delivery on a Thursday episode of The View that sent the Sister Act star into holy hysterics. 

During a light-hearted exchange with the panel, Bowen was asked about his work impersonating public figures on Saturday Night Live, which is where Vance entered the scene. 

“Is it true you didn’t want to play JD Vance on the show?” Sara Haines asked. 

Bowen, without missing a beat, admitted that he felt “there would be better people” for the role and attributed his reluctance to a bout of “imposter syndrome”, a response that was steeped in both humility and comedic flair. 

Then Bowen dropped the line that left Goldberg inconsolable. 

“Look, the guy’s a pope killer,” he said, leaving Whoopi spinning in her chair and the rest of the panel laughing incredulously.

Joy Behar wanted to set the record straight and eventually offered Bowen a cover for the remark: “He doesn’t mean literally, just spiritually.”

Vance was among the last individuals to meet with Pope Francis before his passing. He later remarked that the pontiff appeared “very ill” during their meeting.

“I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis,” Vance said in a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter. “My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.”