'The View' hosts have fierce clash over Middle East, Whoopi Goldberg compares U.S. to Iran
"The View" co-hosts clashed fiercely during a discussion about the Middle East on Wednesday as co-host Whoopi Goldberg compared living in the United States to Iran, receiving pushback from Alyssa Farah Griffin.
"Let’s remember the Iranians throw gay people off buildings. They don’t have basic human rights," Griffin said, as she and co-host Sara Haines argued they weren't going to "defend a terrorist nation," Iran.
The co-hosts discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran as fighting between the two continues. Co-host Sunny Hostin ripped Israel earlier during the discussion for preemptively striking Iran, calling the move illegal under international law. Goldberg pushed back and invoked historic racism against Blacks in the United States.
"Let’s not do that, because if we start with that, we have been known in this country to tie gay folks to the car. Listen, I'm sorry, they used to just keep hanging Black people," Goldberg insisted as Griffin pushed back and said the situations weren't comparable.
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Griffin said, "In the year 2025 in the United States, is nothing like if I step foot wearing this outfit into Iran right now."
"It is the same," Goldberg said. "Murdering someone for their difference is not good whoever does it."
Griffin reiterated her point and repeated that living in the U.S. in 2025 was "very different" than living in Iran.
"Not if you're Black," Goldberg insisted and Hostin added, "not for everybody."
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Goldberg said that the U.S. was the greatest country in the world but said people were worried about their kids being shot.
"Nobody wants to diminish the very real problems we have in this country. That's no one's intention, but I think it's important to remember that there are places much darker than this country, and people who deserve rights," Griffin said.
Goldberg pushed back again and said, "Not everybody feels that way," before stating Black people effectively weren't allowed to vote until 1965.
"They don’t have free and fair elections in Iran. It’s not even the same universe," Griffin argued.
An exasperated Goldberg at one point said there was no way for her to make her understand her argument.
Hostin, who called out Israel throughout the exchange, said angrily at another point, "I want to say this so that I don't get a bunch of hate mail."
"Criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitic, okay? I’m criticizing Benjamin Netanyahu, I am criticizing Israel. I’m not an antisemite. Under international criminal law, what is happening is now is not legal. That’s the bottom line," she said.