With the controversy machine known as Rosie O’Donnell gone, the ladies at The View were all about starting fresh with their 11th season premiere on Tuesday as an absurdly laid-back Whoopi Goldberg took the seat at the table. The audience, at least the studio one, seemed positively, screechily thrilled by the new addition, though, in the interest of full disclosure, there is a guy constantly prodding them to applaud or even rise to give standing ovations. (And they could’ve been simply mesmerized by the shiny, golden new set before them, which made all the gals glow Oprah-style.) And, it should be noted, Whoopi was preaching to the choir (sadly, not the nun-filled kind) — these were folks who went out of their way to be there for her debut and, during commercial breaks, told her things like, "I’m so happy they picked you! I love Sister Act!" (Thankfully, Whoopi kindly explained to that overenthusiastic soul, "Those days are gone. No more jumping around in costume." Amen to that.)
Her performance itself went pretty smoothly, though she still managed to raise a few eyebrows with her exceptionally understanding defense of Michael Vick (the Atlanta Falcons QB who pleaded guilty to dogfighting charges last week). She explained that "where he comes from" — by which she meant the South — dogfighting is part of the culture, so perhaps he didn’t grasp the magnitude of what he was doing.
But the rest of the show remained pretty tame, with standard discussions about that poor misguided Miss Teen USA contestant and a video tribute to Ms. Goldberg. Oh, and, naturally, the girls couldn’t resist one big, Limoncello-laced nod to last season’s zany glory: a reprise appearance of Danny DeVito, whose antics on the show after a night out with George Clooney — capped by sitting on O’Donnell’s lap at one point — were among last year’s many headline-making moments. Ah, we’re a little bit nostalgic already …
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Have to wonder what was going trough Barbara’s mind as Whoopi started to defend Vick.
Just because it’s “part of the culture” still doesn’t mean it’s legal. Am I just out of the loop?
Is there a southern state where this kind of thing is legal?
Barbara told a reporter they’re announcing the other host soon. Hmmm…Could it be Sherry Shepherd? Gah, now I need to find something new to watch, and Tyra and Rachael suck.
Whoopie’s already ticked me off way more than Rosie ever did. Torturing animals is no more excusable as a part of southern culture as slavery was. Any person capable of even a modicum of compassion understands that hurting another sentient being is wrong.
Dogs are animals. And white people are way too attached to them, of course not when it comes to shooting bambi, then thats a God given right protected by the Constitution. Ironic isn’t it?
Booorrrriiinnnngg!!!
Ugh…I was really wanting to like Whoppi on the show, but she blew it right off the bat. How ignorant is she going to make southerners look??? I’m from the south, and it’s not part of anybody’s culture that I know or have heard of. Isn’t the Klan predominantly in the south…is that acceptable??? Duh, I didn’t know it was socially unacceptable to burn this cross in a yard! Her argument was incredibly weak. I think she was just trying to pull a Rosie right out of the gates, but instead of appearing controversial she just came off as stupid. Try again, Whoppi.
Great choice Barbara!
Whoopi just lost a fan bigtime. And to LaLa – since when is animal TORTURE (did you miss that part of the story?) OK? Big dogs are tortured to GET them to fight and little dogs are tortured and killed as bait to train the big dogs. MOST of these dogs are stolen from loving pet owners. These are some of the reasons dog fighting is ILLEGAL. In addition, Mr. Vick admitted to killing uncooperative dogs, i.e, those that would not maim and kill other dogs, in cruel ways which I will not detail here.
I forgot one other very important thing. The dogs that break loose and maim and kill children and adults are very likely dogs that have been at least partially trained for dog fighting. Dog fighting is cruelty breeding cruelty and is a danger to animals AND humans. I am shocked at Whoopi’s ignorance.
Only protect the cute animals, right? I’m sure iguana fighting would be more acceptable.
Yes, Whoopie, those days are gone–along with the days when you were funny, relevant and intelligent. Just cancel it before any more damage is done.
Did she say this, just to get folks talking about the show? Does she really feel this way? Is she REALLY that stupid???? I’m making a list of all the idiots who support that creep who killed those dogs and I will not be supporting their shows/movies/music…I have better places to spend my money than on idiots who find killing dogs acceptable and ‘just a cultural thing’…screw you…
Gee thanks Whoopi for adding yet ANOTHER stereotype to the South. I have been here all my life and I have never heard of dog cruelty being acceptable. I have just watched my last episode of The View. I love Joy Behar and loved the look that she gave Whoopi when she made such a STUPID STUPID remark, if she supports Michael Vick, then I will NOT support any show or movie that she ever does again!!
Emotional ranting from dog owners who still can’t justify hunting as sport. It is somehow ok to hunt an innocent deer but not ok to train a dog to fight. Hunters claim over population as a reason for killing innocent creatures. Why isnt overbreeding an excuse for dog fighting? No one has offered one legitimate argument why these two things aren’t similar. I too feel that fighting dogs is horrible behavior but I understand the hypocrisy of allowing hunting of any kind as a sport. Our current VP shot his best friend hunting quail, but dogs are somehow valued over those animals. Shame on you!
Uhh…actaully, as an animal lover, I can easily identify the difference, even if I do not agree with hunting unless you are eating your kill.
Dear, game animals, etc, are food sources.
Dogs are pets.
It’s not that hard to see the difference when your not pushing some inane agenda.
Now if your just shooting animals for the hell of it, that’s not for me, but there is still a difference.
Dogs are domesticated. They serve little purpose besides companionship.
And hunter’s don’t starve animals and force them to fight each other to the death. So that’s another point right there.
basically
Hunting = wrong but morally ambiguous due to the possibilty of eating your kill
Dog Fighting = can serve no purpose at all, is brutally inhuman, and targets animals bred only for companionship.
see, it’s easy when your not blinded by your idiotic biases!
Most hunters dont eat their kill so your theory is flawed. They hunt for the sport and no animal’s life should be valued over anothers. I am glad however that you took the time to show us exactly how exactly idiotic your ideas are. It doesnt fly. Sorry.
If we don’t kill deer there would be too many of them and they would wander into the street and injure our cars. Bob Barker got on the TV every day and warned us to spay and neuter. We dont so there are too many dogs. If you can justify hunting deer then you should accept fighting dogs. Im not for fighting dogs but the two are oddly the same to me.
LaLa is exactly right!!
I am sorry Peter but that was the worse defense of hunting I have ever read in my life! It was totally ridiculous. Are you really trying to say that dog fighting is more harsh and cruel than a man blowing off a deer’s head with a rifle. These are both acts of animal cruelty and injustice yet no one, other than LaLa, is saying this. If we are going to crucify Vick, as people are doing, than let’s take a look at animal cruelty on every level not just dog violence. And come on… in 2007 are you really trying to convince adults that we still have to “hunt” for our food? Are you kidding me?
In regards to Whoopi..come down people. If you actually listen to her comments she did not “defend” Vick. She was trying to answer the question “how could someone do this?” Which is what everyone has been asking and she answered it by saying it was a cultural mindset. Again not defending him at all, but rather discussing how someone can commit an act unimaginable to others
I miss Rosie
I am from the “deep south”, Memphis, TN, and let me tell you- dogfighting is NOT considered ok down here. I’ve lived here my entire life, and have never even heard of dogfighting going on from anyone I know. I’ve read about it occurring, obviously, but not known anyone who even knew anyone who participated. So it’s not a “southern thing”, but it IS a cultural thing. You don’t need to watch an episode of Cribs on mtv to know that overwhelmingly, it is a certain sect of African-Americans who see this as a sport. Not always, but statistics prove that it is usually popular among blacks, and not just in the South. It’s not racist, it’s just an indisputable statistical fact. So don’t blame it on the South, Whoopi. Everyone I know down here is horrified by what Michael Vick did.
And for the record, I also am NOT a believer in hunting as a sport, either. But there is a difference between shooting an animal from far away, and TORTURING an animal, then electrocuting it.
Here’s justifying hunting – PEOPLE EAT THE MEAT THEY HUNT. there’s the difference. were vick and his friends eating the dog meat? doubt it.
so based on your theory, we should just randomly kill dogs due to overpopulation b/c OWNERS (i.e. HUMANS!!!) are too IRRESPONSIBLE and IGNORANT to spay or neuter?? what about cats, should we take out all outdoor cats b/c they MIGHT be strays? Also, if the deer population gets too large, it starts to threaten HUMAN lives as they run out onto roads and highways randomly and can cause serious or even fatal accidents. get your head out of the sand. vick is a moron and he LIED about what he did. he deserves anything and everything he gets.
I just read Janet’s comment about what actually went on, and I had to post again. That turned my blood cold- if anyone has not read it yet go and read what Janet wrote. Oh my God, HOW could any human being do that? If anyone, I don’t care where they’re from, has it in them to use little dogs as “bait”, then kill big dogs who won’t maim or kill the little ones…..anyone that is able to do something that cruel is a heartless ba$t*rd. And LaLa- I agree that hunting is cruel, and I think it shoudl be illegal, but there is absolutely a difference. What Vick did goes WAY beyond what any hunter does, and you can’t deny it. This goes for any kind of murder- it’s always a lot worse when someone tortures their victim then kills them in a horrific way,rather than just shooting them. That’s just common sense. Anyone who tortures a living thing is a monster, whether it be a dog, bird, or person.
This is obviously a publicity stunt. Who even knew, besides die-hard fans, that Whoopi started on the show? There was not one bleep about it in the media. Until now.
I thought Whoopi was kind of flat yesterday – I DVRed the show and watched last night. I also thought the defense of Vick was LAME. I mean, if I am from the south is it ok to be prejudiced against black people because that is part of the culture? I don’t think so. Part of being an adult is realizing that what your parents do is not the right thing – i.e. racism, dogfighting, drinking or whatever. Just because my granfather still refers to black people as “coloreds” doesn’t mean I should!
Bottomline. Mike should have taken up hunting instead because its legal. See you in 18-24 months Mikey!
I don’t agree with hunting either, but here are some other major differences between deer hunting and dogfighting:
- hunters don’t tie deer up to “rape stands”
- hunters don’t use kittens and smaller (terrified) animals to antagonize deer and make them more aggressive
- hunters usually try to kill the deer quickly instead of letting them tear each other apart with their teeth
- hunting is legal, dogfighting is not
There is NO excuse for Vick’s behavior.
I’m reading these comments and I’m a little saddened by the posts about since dogs are overpopulated, we should let dogfighting continue. And that somehow hunting is like dogfighting. I’m not a hunter, nor am I huge fan of it. But coming from a Northern state, I certainly understand the need for hunting. Let’s talk about deer for a moment. Over the years, we’ve unfortunately forced out most of the deers natural predators. Deer continue to thrive even in urban environments. If it wasn’t for hunting season, we’d have an overpopulation that would cause many deer to starve. I’m not for people going out with automatic rifles to hunt, because I don’t think its a sport any longer. But most hunters I know are extremely responsible individuals that eat what they hunt. And they are not torturing them before killing them over and over again. And they are not training them to kill other items through means of abuse. That’s the difference.
What Whoopi meant was that where Vick comes from, they don’t know any better. To them this vile act is similar to Greyhound Racing in Florida. Greyhounds are bred for speed, agility, and lung capcity. However, they lack temperment. If a hound cannot make the cut or if it is old, in some cases they are killed. This is why there are Greyhound rescuses all across the country.