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The View star Whoopi Goldberg breaks silence over 'devastating' comments

The actress said that the Holocaust wasn't about race during an episode of The View

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Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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The View star Whoopi Goldberg has issued an apology for her comments regarding the Holocaust, which were described by Will and Grace actress Debra Messing as being "devastating and dangerous".

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Speaking on The View on Monday, Whoopi said: "Let's be truthful - the Holocaust isn't about race. It's about man's inhumanity to man - that's what it's about…. The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley. Let's talk about it for what it is - it's how people treat each other. It's a problem. It doesn't matter if you're black or white, because black, white, Jews... everybody eats each other."

WATCH: Whoopi has apologised for her controversial comments

The Sister Act star has since issued an apology via Twitter, writing: "On today's show, I said the Holocaust 'is not about race, but about man's inhumanity to man.' I should have said it is about both. As Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation Leage shared, 'The Holocaust was about the Nazis' systematic annihilation of the Jewish people – who they deemed to be an inferior race.' I stand corrected.

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Whoopi apologised for her comments

"The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waiver. I'm sorry for the hurt I have caused. Written with my sincerest apologies, Whoopi Goldberg."

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Her initial comments were met with widespread criticism, with Debra writing: "You deeply hurt & offended me. By minimizing the horror of the Holocaust, the systematic annihilating of 6 MILLION Jews - which by the way IS a race-an attempted GENOCIDE to white-on-white crime? You 'All Lives Matter,' -ed us. Devastating & dangerous."

Atypical actor Michael Rapaport added: "Yes it [expletive] was all and only about race… you need to apologise, you need to explain yourself. Not good, not cool."

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