Feel-Good Friday: The Whoopi Goldberg is an old broad edition

An interesting moment happened on Wednesday during the filming of ABC’s The View, a live morning show. A woman in the audience called cast member Whoopi Goldberg “an old broad.” Goldberg’s response to the audience member warrants this week’s feel-good moment. Her response was perfect.

The audience member yelled at Whoopi as the women were taking their seats at the table, the center stage prop used on the show. She wanted to capture Whoopi’s attention and she did.

“We’re happy to see well. Cool, well, go on and have a seat,” Goldberg said, exclaiming that the crowd was a “very happy” one, before turning to a group of women sitting near the stage to address something one of them said.

“Did you just call me an old broad? Yeah?” the 67-year-old Oscar-winning actress asked.

The camera then cut to a woman wearing a large fur hat. “She said, ‘You old broad,’ and I was like, hey, it’s Wednesday, and I am an old broad, and happy about it.”

#WhoopiGoldberg says she loves being an "old broad." 😂 *Is Whoopi your favorite co-host on #TheView?*👇🏾(🎥: @theviewabc) pic.twitter.com/M76jOhH8i6

— theJasmineBRAND (@thejasminebrand) January 18, 2023

The woman doesn’t exactly look like a spring chicken herself. As a side question, are face masks mandatory for a live audience in New York? I see that the woman and the woman sitting next to her are masked up. Anyway, Whoopi answered in the best way – being an old broad is better than the alternative. She’s alive and working and embracing her life. That sounds like a healthy approach to life to me.

When Hostin asked, “Because you know what they say, Whoopi? What’s the alternative?” the host responded, “Yeah, the alternative is not attractive to any of us. We all want to be old broads and old dudes.”

#WhoopiGoldberg is responding to being called an "old broad." pic.twitter.com/DcWUsO5eoK

— Access Hollywood (@accesshollywood) January 19, 2023

Reactions were mixed on social media. Some enjoyed ridiculing Whoopi and others came to her defense. Ironically, that day’s topic was age.

After the episode aired, many of the show’s viewers took to the comments on Twitter to share their reactions. “someone had to do it,” one person penned, while another chimed in, “oh yeah,” along with a laughing emoji. Of course, one of Whoopi’s fans took to her defense and applauded her for her response. “Brava to Ms Goldberg!”, they wrote. Finally, a separate admirer quoted RHOBH star Lisa Rinna and added, “Own it!”

The fan heckling Whoopi took place during the same episode where the topic of age was ironically a conversation with Modern Family alum Julie Bowen, 52. “You basically became very famous at the age of 39,” Joy began. “Which some people might say is late in life… I started at that age too.” In response, Julie agreed with the 80-year-old host that reaching success is often “better” when one is older. “Oh yeah! Especially if the success has to do with being in the public eye,” the blonde beauty began. “Maybe if I was a lawyer or something it might’ve been different.” The Emmy winner also noted that being bombarded by paparazzi came a bit easier being older.

Whoopi isn’t the oldest cast member sitting at The View’s table. That person is Joy Behar, who is 80 years old. Whoopi is 67 years old.

Perhaps the heckler was a book fan of Whoopi’s. Her latest book is titled “Two Old Broads” and it was published in November.

Was an audience member at The View today insulting Whoopi Goldberg by yelling out “You old broad”?

Nah. More likely she was a fan and reader of Goldberg’s own book, Two Old Broads, published in November, even if The View moderator didn’t seem to make an immediate connection.

Goldberg’s book Two Old Broads: Stuff You Need to Know That You Didn’t Know You Needed to Know, co-authored with M.E. Hecht, MD, was published by Harper Horizon.

It all worked out, even if Whoopi didn’t make the connection to her book. She handled the heckler with grace and humor. That is appreciated in this age of perpetual outrage. Yeah, she’s old but she’s alive and kickin’. It beats the alternative.