Whoopi Goldberg has apologised for repeating her claim the Holocaust was nothing to do with race.
The Oscar-winning comic, 67, issued her statement on Tuesday as calls keep growing for ABC to fire her from “The View”.
She was suspended from the show in February for saying the Holocaust was about “white on white” violence and “man’s inhumanity to man” instead of race.
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Despite uproar following her comments, she repeated them last week in an interview with The Sunday Times.
Goldberg said in her apology it was “never my intention to appear as if I was doubling down on hurtful comments”, especially after she talked with and heard people “like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in”.
She added in a statement to Yahoo: “Recently, while doing press in London, I was asked about my comments from earlier this year. I tried to convey to the reporter what I had said and why and attempted to recount that time.
“It was never my intention to appear as if I was doubling down on hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in.
“I’m still learning a lot, and believe me, I heard everything everyone said to me.
“I believe that the Holocaust was about race, and I am still as sorry now as I was then that I upset, hurt and angered people.
“My sincere apologies again, especially to everyone who thought this was a fresh rehash of the subject. I promise it was not.
“In this time of rising anti-Semitism, I want to be very clear when I say that I always stood with the Jewish people and always will. My support for them has not wavered and never will.”
Among Goldberg’s critics is Anti-Defamation League chief Jonathan Greenblatt, who said: “Whoopi Goldberg’s comments about the Holocaust and race are deeply offensive and incredibly disappointing, especially given that this is not the first time she had made remarks like this.
“In a moment when anti-Semitic incidents have surged across the US, she should realise that making such ignorant statements can have real consequences.”