Whoopi Goldberg slammed American Idol as the ‘downfall of society’ before sheepishly backtracking in an awkward blunder on Thursday’s The View.
The actress, 67, was forced into a groveling explanation after she slated the ABC show -leading a producer reminding her The View is on the same network in a excruciating exchange.
The drama began when Goldberg was talking about Netflix documentary Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me, which she claimed ‘dwelled’ on the star’s final days.
She said: ‘You have Basketball Wives, you have the Housewives of whatever, all the Bravo shows, giving you the impression that you’re doing something wrong because you’re living your life.
‘People watch these shows because they make them feel better. I think that we, as a society, love to watch stuff to judge folks.”
Gaffe: Whoopi Goldberg slammed American Idol as the ‘downfall of society’ before sheepishly backtracking in an awkward blunder on Thursday’s The View
Latest idol: American Idol Season 21 was won by Iam Tongi, 18, who beat Colin Stough, 18 and Megan Danielle, 19 in the final
‘You know, I’ve always thought that the beginning of the downfall of society was with, um, what’s the name of that show I always tell you that?’ – before turning to executive producer Brian Teta.
Teta responded: ‘ABC’s American Idol?’ – with an embarrassed Goldberg firing back: ‘Well, it wasn’t always on ABC… Once we gave people the ability to judge other people, I think we ran amok with it, And it’s gone out of control.’
American Idol originally aired on Fox from 2002 to 2016 – before returning in 2018 on ABC.
Goldberg added: ‘They invited the public to decide who their person was’ before Teta made an apparent off-camera gesture at the Ghost star, who retorted: ‘Did you really just do that?’
Teta also asked Goldberg to agree that ‘Idol has gotten better and you like it no
She said: ‘When I was watching it, ABC didn’t have it. We have it now, and it’s a different show. … ABC knows I feel like this, I’ve told them. It has nothing to do with them; it’s to do with the show.’
American Idol Season 21 was won by Iam Tongi, 18, who beat Colin Stough, 18 and Megan Danielle, 19 in the final,
The season finale of American Idol experienced a ratings dip amid backlash from fans calling the show ‘rigged’.
Wow: The actress, 67, was forced into a groveling backtrack after she slated her fellow ABC show – before a producer reminded her The View is on the same network in a excruciating exchange
Stop talking Whoopi! Teta responded: ‘ABC’s American Idol?’ – with an embarrassed Goldberg firing back: ‘Well, it wasn’t always on ABC… Once we gave people the ability to judge other people, I think we ran amok with it, And it’s gone out of control.’
The Sun reports 5.7 million viewers tuned into the May 21 season finale, a ratings drop following a steady increase in ratings.
On May 14, 6.3 million people watched the show, while 6.1 million watched the May 7 episode.
The April 30th episode raked in 5.9 million viewers, while both the week prior and season premiere obtained 5.3 million viewers.
Fans accused the show of being rigged when not only Iam won, but also when contestant Wé Ani was eliminated the week before.
The March 12 episode was the lowest-rated episode of the season, with just 3.3 million people tuning in.
Tongi, who was born in Hawaii but is of Tongan and Samoan heritage, was crowned the winner of the 21st season of the hit show after a nationwide vote during a three-hour, star-studded finale on ABC.
He performed Don’t Let Go by Spawnbreezie as his family in the audience waved their hands in the air.
Some fans that were upset by the result took to social media, with one writing on Twitter: ‘American Idol is rigged. Colin Stough was the best one out there.’
Another claimed Iam won on voters’ sympathy rather than talent, writing: ‘Obviously the sympathy vote fix is in.’
With a third simply adding: ‘I’m so over this rigged American Idol’.
Another was so upset with the result they tagged host Ryan Seacrest and asked: ‘So Ryan I thought #AmericanIdol was a singing contest? Any reason why the obviously better singer did not win? Curious…just asking. Thank you.’
When Wé was eliminated, fans also accused the show of manipulating the results.
‘This show is rigged. We Ani should definitely be this season’s winner,’ one fan tweeted.
Claims: The season finale of American Idol experienced a ratings dip amid backlash from fans calling the show ‘rigged’
Watching at home: Viewers were divided over the result with some saying that Colin was the better singer
‘We Ani is the best singer in American Idol. She is this generation Whitney Houston. You can’t compare her with Colin or Iam. American Idol is Rigged,’ another remarked.
Tongi already has a number of connections in the music industry and had a single ‘Dreams’ released in November 2020.
On the show Tongi was mentored by Australian country star Keith Urban.
Other viewers said they were happy for Iam.
One wrote: ‘Congrats to Iam Tongi the winner of American Idol 2023!’
Another said: ‘Iam Tongi turned American Idol into his Show!’
