The View's Whoopi Goldberg takes aim at Zachary Levi's
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Goldberg discussed Levi and Chappell Roan's recent political comments, and particularly took issue with Levi's claim that Hollywood is an all-liberal town.
By Joey Nolfi
Zachary Levi might've riled up half of the internet upon endorsing Donald Trump for president, but he has one particular Hollywood peer to answer to after he claimed liberals in the entertainment industry might shun him for expressing his political views.
The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg responded to the Shazam star's endorsement on Tuesday's live broadcast after playing a clip of Levi saying at a recent rally that "Hollywood is a very, very liberal town" and his support for Trump "very well constitute career suicide" as a result.
"So, okay. That's not necessarily true," Goldberg said, with an exasperated look on her face as she paused to collect her thoughts. "From the beginning of Hollywood, it's always been a very right-leaning town, but I know you don't know much about the Hollywood history, so let me school you."
Whoopi Goldberg on The View, Zachary Levi attends the Los Angeles Special Screening of Columbia Pictures "Harold And The Purple Crayon" at Culver Theater on July 21, 2024 in Culver City, California.
Whoopi Goldberg on 'The View' ; Zachary Levi. ABC; Frazer Harrison/Getty
She continued, telling Levi that "we're a mixed bunch," and that she felt "very few people seem to bite it because they're Republican." She went on to cite the careers of Jon Voight and Dennis Quaid as examples of "working" Republicans in the industry, before adding that Levi should "stop that" because his estimation is "more B.S., and it's unnecessary."
Goldberg also brought up the question of the importance of celebrity political endorsements following controversy surrounding rising pop star Chappell Roan, who drew criticism from some left-wing circles for saying in a recent interview that she had issues with both sides of the political aisle, before saying in a follow-up statement that she would be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
"It's faint praise, and I feel as though she's part of the LGBTQ community, and she should know that the other side is anti-transgender, they're anti-gay rights," observed panelist Joy Behar of Roan. "They'll probably, if he gets into office, God forbid, they'll roll back gay marriage. I mean, she needs to know that."
Cohost Sara Haines pointed out that Roan's discomfort over endorsing Harris stemmed from the current administration's policies in the Middle East — particularly amid the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza. Still, Behar stressed that "we're in an emergency" in the United States, a sentiment Sunny Hostin echoed.
"I think that we are at an inflection point in our country. This election matters more than any election of my lifetime. We may not have elections after this election if the former president wins," Hostin said. "If you have a platform and you're willing to use it, heavy is the head that wears the crown. I don't care who you're endorsing."
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Goldberg closed the Hot Topics discussion by urging people to lighten up on younger celebrities navigating early fame.
"Those folks who are new to this don't know how this goes," she said. "I'm going to simply say, you don't have to say what you want to do. If you decide that you want to speak up, speak up because you're proud to say this is where I am. If you're not there, I get it. But you can't sit back and not vote, which no one has said."
Levi's endorsement of Trump made headlines over the weekend, after the actor appeared at a rally in Michigan and threw his support behind the controversial politician.
“I’m not gonna take too much time, but I did just wanna just give you a little context about why Shazam is sitting here talking to you about these various things,” Levi said at the event. “I grew up in my family that was Christian conservative, that was pretty much the lane that we were in. My parents were Kennedy Democrats that then turned into Reagan Republicans, and they taught me to have a healthy level of distrust for the government and a healthy level of distrust for industry that runs amok."
Hostin previously addressed Levi and Roan on The View's companion podcast Behind the Table, telling producer Brian Teta on Monday's episode that she's interested to have Levi on the talk show to share his reasoning for backing Trump.
"I think, if you are a Trump supporter and you have a big platform, then you should say, ‘I’m a Trump supporter,’ because maybe that normalizes — I don’t agree with that — but maybe that normalizes him for someone who is not invested," Hostin said. "Maybe with [Chappell Roan], if she says I don’t believe in all of her policies and I have problems on both sides but this is the choice that I’m going to make, maybe people will listen to that. They’re speaking their truths. I generally don’t think these endorsements carry a lot of weight, but I am happy for this election cycle when someone is willing to put it out there. We put it out there every day, and we pay the consequences for it."
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