Yahoo Lifestyle Whoopi Goldberg defends Nicole Scherzinger after Jesus hat backlash on “The View”: ‘It’s just a hat’
"She liked a hat about Jesus," said Goldberg, as her cohosts slam the Internet's "mob mentality"
Whoopi Goldberg and her The View cohosts want to make social media hospitable again as they come to the defense of Nicole Scherzinger in the wake of her post-election controversy.
The former Pussycat Dolls member and current Broadway darling for her work in Sunset Boulevard received backlash after she commented on controversial comedian Russell Brand's Instagram post that featured a red MAGA-inspired hat that read "Make Jesus Great Again" following Donald Trump's victory against Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Related: Nicole Scherzinger apologizes after backlash for engaging with controversial political posts
Scherzinger's now-deleted comment ("Where do I get this hat?") was interpreted as pro-Trump and ignited a firestorm of controversy, prompting Goldberg & Co. to lambast the backlash and "mob mentality" on the latest episode of the ABC talk show (as seen in the video below).
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Goldberg reminded viewers that Scherzinger, who never publicly endorsed any particular presidential candidate, grew up in conservative Kentucky with a grandfather who was a priest and was brought up Catholic. "In 2019, she said she attended church at least twice a week and was raised very conservative," noted Goldberg. "However, she supported [former President Barack] Obama in 2008 and has been a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community."
"She's very devout. If you know anything about her, you should know this," reiterated Goldberg, expressing confusion over that disconnect. "Why do you think people can't see what she was commenting on?"
Ana Navarro said in response that "emotions are so raw" at the moment. "I agree with you. It’s overkill," said Navarro. "I think people are losing their minds. Right now social media is a rough, rough place to be. You can literally post a picture of puppies and there will be people attacking you. Every day I get thousands of people telling me to ‘go eat another burrito and go back to Mexico.’ I ain’t going anywhere.”
ABC; Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
Whoopi Goldberg and her 'The View' cohosts address the Nicole Scherzinger backlash"To me this is so ridiculous and stupid and she shouldn't have apologized," added Navarro.
Sara Haines said Scherzinger shouldn't even have to disclose who she voted for. "The mob mentality on social media is so poisonous and toxic and it just got power-checked in the last election," said Haines. "You cannot go after people like this. Her Tony has nothing to do with what she's doing on social media — people are calling on her to not to be nominated for a Tony. This has gotten out of control."
Scherzinger is currently courting Tony buzz for her performance on the Broadway revival of Sunset Blvd. Goldberg called her performance "brilliant" and urged people to "relax." "She liked a hat about Jesus. I would think that would be a unifying thing. It’s a hat. It’s just a hat.”
In her social media apology, Scherzinger said she "made the mistake of not realizing" that her comment "could be easily interpreted as being politically related" and apologized to "anyone who understandably reached that conclusion.” She added, “Many presumptions are being drawn, which do not reflect who I am, what I stand for, or who I voted for. Many of the marginalized communities feeling hurt and concerned by the results of the presidential election are people I care about most. I stand with them, as I always have, throughout my life and career. If you know me, you know that.”
