In 2004, Whoopi Goldberg was one of several Hollywood celebrities to perform at a fundraiser for then-Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, where she spoke about then-President George W. Bush. The comments were criticized by the media. sexually charged.
Goldberg has claimed that his career took a dark turn amid the backlash, but the exact joke has not been widely covered until now.
As part of a profile on the comedian, The New York Times The magazine dug up and printed the text of his joke.
“Don’t cry when Bush comes to shove,” he reportedly told the crowd Times. “Vote for Kerry. And that’s why I’m here tonight. Because I love Bush. But someone is giving Bush a bad name. Someone has tarnished Bush’s name. Someone has started a war, someone has killed. Loads of country misled, someone tried to amend the constitution, all in the name of bush. The bush I know and love would never do such things. My bush is smarter than that. And if my bush is smarter than that, you can understand how dumb I think the other bush is.” He closed by saying, “Vote your heart and mind, and put the bush where it belongs,” and pointed to his crotch.
Goldberg said Times He didn’t think what he said was so disgusting. “You know why they couldn’t print what I said?” Goldberg asked me. “Because I didn’t say anything that was bad… but hearing them talk about it, it disgusted me.”
He later added of Carrier’s fallout for coverage of his remarks that they were “unique to me, because I didn’t say anything nasty that they accused me of.”
“I mean, I worked,” he told the Times. But I didn’t do what they said I did. And I’ll take anything you’re mad at that I actually did. But you can’t accuse me of shit I didn’t do.
At the Edinburgh TV Festival, Goldberg said her career came to a “huge standstill” following coverage of her comments at a Kerry fundraiser.
“I would describe this situation as a lot of people covering their backs, because the joke was never about that,” he said. “But nobody ever stood up and said, ‘Hey, what actually happened.’ And put it in the newspaper. And you see, they’ll never say exactly what I said or what exactly I said. But all one has to say is that you said it and it happened.
Shortly after his appearance at a Kerry fundraiser, The New York Post He described his routine as “an X-rated rant full of sexual profanity against President Bush” that included “a series of profanity-laced remarks about female genitalia at Bush.”
And he was removed as Slim Fast’s spokesperson, as executives were reportedly unhappy with his remarks at the event, according to reports at the time.
“We are disappointed in the manner in which Ms. Goldberg chose to portray herself and sincerely regret that her recent remarks offended some of our customers. Ads featuring Ms. Goldberg are now on air. There won’t be,” said Terry Olsen, the company’s general manager.