Whoopi Goldberg backs Carrie Underwood inauguration performance

“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg on Tuesday backed country star Carrie Underwood’s upcoming performance at President-elect Trump’s inauguration.

“If I believe I have the right to make up my mind to go perform someplace, I believe they have the same right … I have to support,” Goldberg said on “The View.”

“[Doesn’t] mean I’m particularly interested in what I won’t be watching, you know? But that’s me,” she added.

The comments about Underwood’s inauguration performance are notable coming from Goldberg, who is commonly a harsh critic of Trump.

Underwood is scheduled to perform “America the Beautiful” next Monday prior to Trump’s official swearing-in. In a statement to USA Today, the country music star said she has affection for “our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event.”

“I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future,” she added.

For Trump’s first presidential inauguration festivities eight years ago, he had a hard time attracting major celebrities amid criticism and concerns about how he would lead following a divisive 2016 campaign.

“It’s like Joe [Scarborough] and Mika [Brzezinski]. … They felt that’s what they needed to do, and I gotta stand behind ‘em,” Goldberg said of Underwood’s performance during Tuesday’s episode, referencing a meeting that the MSNBC co-hosts had with the president-elect in November.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.