Whoopi Goldberg Confronts Her Bleeped Remark Live on The View

Live TV is still the best at chaos. Case in point: The View cut Whoopi Goldberg's audio mid-rant about the government shutdown, and the room reaction was so loud you could hear it even under the bleep.

What set it off

During a segment on the ongoing US government shutdown, Whoopi pushed back on the whole thing, saying it 'should not be affecting the American people' and starting a sentence with 'these are decisions that you don't have the right to...' Right about then, she seemed to drop the F-bomb. ABC muted the audio fast, and whatever she said after that was also silenced.

The room lost it

When the sound popped back in, Alyssa Farah Griffin had her hand up like she was calling it in real time and said, 'You caught it!' The audience was audibly stunned, Sunny Hostin looked shocked, and Whoopi sat there with her hands on her face doing the universal 'welp' expression. Her only comment before they cut to break: 'Well, you know where I'm at.'

After the break, Whoopi explained

Coming back from commercials, Whoopi addressed the whole thing head-on, and she even let slip a bit of the behind-the-scenes scramble.

'Just so we're all clear, our people just got a call, saying, "Whoopi just said a bad word. Do you have a comment?" I didn't say the bad word. I did not say it. But, so, I know that you're sitting, waiting for me to do something, waiting for something to happen. Could you just watch the show? I'd appreciate it if you just watched the show, and then you'll know what really went on.'

Then she added, with a wink you could hear: 'And do play it back the 50 times that you're going to do.'

What actually happened (as cleanly as possible)

• Whoopi criticized the government shutdown, saying it shouldn't hit regular Americans and that certain decisions aren't theirs to make.
• She appeared to say the F-word; ABC censored the audio, including what came right after.
• When sound returned, Alyssa Farah Griffin said, 'You caught it!' Sunny Hostin and the audience looked stunned; Whoopi gave a sheepish look and said, 'Well, you know where I'm at.'
• After a commercial break, Whoopi said she did not actually say the 'bad word' and asked viewers to watch the show to understand what happened.
• She also joked that people would replay the moment 50 times, which, yes, is exactly what will happen.

The takeaway

Whoopi insists she didn't say the word everyone thinks she said; the control room clearly wasn't taking chances. Either way, the point she was making before the censor button got a workout was about the shutdown and who should bear the impact. The viral clip, of course, is going to be the bleep.