Whoopi Goldberg slammed the Department of Veterans Affairs during a furious rant on Wednesday’s episode of The View, after it was revealed that a memo had been sent to the organization requesting the removal of JV Day’s iconic kiss photo in Times Square of its buildings.
This week, VA Secretary Denis McDonough was forced to deny the photography ban after a leaked memo signed by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health for Operations RimaAnn O. Nelson began circulating online, and Whoopi He was not at all impressed with the news.
Clearly frustrated by the issue, the 68-year-old actor said the VA should “talk about what is being done to women in the military” instead of focusing on the black-and-white photo, which was taken in August. from 1945 and shows a sailor celebrating the end of World War II by taking a woman in his arms and kissing her.
Heading straight to the VA, the Sister Act star raged on air: ‘Think about the things you could fix that are real, that will have an impact on the very women you say you’re trying to protect!’ Do it and then we’ll talk about this photo.
Whoopi Goldberg slammed the VA during a furious rant on Wednesday’s episode of The View after a leaked memo called for the removal of an iconic photo of its buildings.
The photograph in question is a black and white photograph of a sailor kissing a woman in Times Square while celebrating the end of World War II in 1945.
Whoopi seemed fed up as her co-host Sara Haines described the leaked memo about the photo as “frustrating.”
He continued yelling, ‘We can talk about all kinds of things, but if you have the ability to fix real things, don’t waste your time like that because it pisses everyone off!’
His co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, 34, chimed in and said: “It’s ridiculous and, by the way, a An Air Force veteran friend of mine tweeted: ‘Meanwhile, I can’t get an appointment at the VA for a couple of months’… like, dealing with the real problems veterans face.’
Whoopi continued her rant, gesturing with her arms while angrily saying, ‘Fix the problem and don’t put a band-aid on something that doesn’t need one because everyone knows what the picture is!’ We all know what it is and why it happened!’ before he was left speechless.
“Ironically, the image is to celebrate the end of fascism,” commented Joy Behar, 81, as Sara Haines decided to weigh in, describing the leaked memo as “frustrating.”
“The overreach of this woman who I assumed asked for this to be removed was to say that people were experiencing trauma walking down the halls…you work for the VA, these are people who literally have trauma in their lives,” he said Sara, 46 years old. .
“And you look at what trauma used to mean, these two people hugging each other, (and) by the way, it might feel different if it was someone pushing someone, but their arms are pulled back and it’s a moment of happiness.
“We’ve led a privileged life not having… and I acknowledge the Iraq war, but the generations before us had Vietnam, the Korean War, World War II, World War I, we’re all related to someone who was somewhere fighting on the ground.
“Generally, the consensus right now is that people have the privilege to assign things like that to that photo, that photo was the end of something horrible and the people in the photo are no longer alive, but someone’s daughter. Many of They said they remained friends for years after that.
Sister Act star Whoopi urged VA to ‘think about things that could be fixed and are real’
The 68-year-old actor couldn’t hide his frustration when he told the VA that wasting time “pisses everyone off.”
Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin (right) agreed the VA could do better and address real problems
‘It’s such an iconic and beautiful photo. Talk about overcorrection and not focusing on the right things!’ The mother of three added as Whoopi responded: ‘Yes, there are things to fix at the VA, there are absolute things… you can touch them!’
Sunny Hostin, 55, spoke up and said, “I think Alyssa’s point was very good. My uncle, bless him, fought in the Vietnam War and is suffering some of the effects of it and sometimes the VA doesn’t It’s so good”. as receptive as you want, I’ve had conversations with them.’
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health for Operations RimaAnn O. Nelson wrote the complaint.
‘Well, Cher ‘It was instrumental in getting helmets for our service staff!’ Whoopi then said as she fumed, ‘I mean, there are things you all could fix!’ as Sunny stated: “It’s not all bad, but they need to do some work.”
Refusing to let anyone else on the panel speak, Whoopi continued: ‘Look, in this country there should never be a vet living on the streets. There shouldn’t be any of that. Every person who fought for us should be able to get housing in time. This should not be so hard.’
His comments come after VA Secretary Denis McDonough took to GOES”.
When pressed by DailyMail.com, the VA admitted that the memo was sent late last month but had since been rescinded. It is unclear whether McDonough ever approved it.
The memo instructed employees to “immediately remove” the historical image and replace it with one deemed less offensive.
“The photograph, which depicts a non-consensual act, is inconsistent with the VA’s no-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment and assault,” the memo said.
“To foster a more trauma-informed environment that promotes the psychological safety of our employees and the veterans we serve, photographs depicting ‘VJ Day in Times Square’ should be removed from all US Health Administration facilities.” the veterans”.