Whoopi Goldberg has publicly apologised for using the word ‘gypped’ live on TV, which has an offensive meaning.
She used the term on the chat show The View, which she co-hosts with Alyssa Farah Griffin, Anna Navarro, Joy Behar, Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin.
They were discussing the ongoing Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels scandal and her use of the word some backlash online.
However, others are confused about why she apologised. Here’s the offensive meaning of Whoopi Goldberg‘s term gypped explained…
Offensive meaning Whoopi Goldberg’s term ‘gypped’
Gypped is a word that means to cheat or swindle someone, but it has long been associated with a slur against Romani people and travellers.
It’s linked to the derogatory word ‘gypsy’ and has negative connotations, wrongly suggesting the Roma are fraudsters or cheats.
The Romani are an Indo-Aryan group who originiated in India and travelled through Europe between the eighth and tenth centuries.
What did Whoopi Goldberg host say?
Whilst discussing Donald Trump, Whoopi said:
“The people who still believe that he got, you know, gypped somehow, will still believe that he cared enough… about his wife to pay that money from his personal thing.”
“I just don’t understand. If that was the case, then why all the subterfuge? Why is Michael Cohen paying for it?” she continued.
The other hosts continued as normal, but the 67-year-old soon began being slammed on Twitter.
One person wrote “please don’t use ‘gypped’ Whoopi” and tagged an article that explains why the term is derogatory.
“Whoopi, did I hear you right? Did you just say ‘gypped’??” said another, although many also think her apology wasn’t necessary.
This comes a year after Whoopi was suspended from The View in February 2022 over remarks she made about the Holocaust.
The View host apologises
The TV host uploaded a video apology to The View’s official Twitter account following the backlash over the offensive term of phrase.
“You know when you’re a certain age you use words that you know from when you’re a kid or you remember saying, and that’s what I did today and I shouldn’t have,” she said.
“I should have thought about it a little longer before I said it. But I didn’t and I should have said ‘cheated,’ but I used another word and I’m really, really sorry.”
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