Whoopi Goldberg has weighed in on whether Covid-19 originated in a lab in Wuhan, stating that “politics got in the way” of the truth.
Goldberg speculated that the theory was initially quashed over concerns it would fuel anti-Asian hate crimes, while supporting talk show host Jon Stewart, who said he received backlash from liberals for advocating the Wuhan Hypothesis in 2021.
Her comments came after FBI Director Christopher Wray said the pandemic “most likely” came from a Chinese government-controlled lab.
“Politics got in the way of a lot of truth-seeking,” Goldberg told The View Wednesday morning.
“They’re still not saying it definitively and that’s a problem. They’re still not sure.
Whoopi Goldberg said ‘politics got in the way of a lot of truth-seeking’ as she appeared to support the theory that Covid-19 originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China
Goldberg and her fellow The View panelists recently discussed comments from FBI Director Christopher Wray that the pandemic “most likely” came from a lab
‘You know, who knows where it came from. Maybe. Maybe not.’
She went on to bash former President Donald Trump, who she claimed turned it into a racial issue by fomenting hatred towards Asian Americans in the early days of the pandemic.
“I know when the last guy before Biden said something about this — he was talking about Asian people,” Goldberg continued.
“I’m sure Jon Stewart didn’t realize that was happening because I’m sure he didn’t know what was going on all over the country with Asian people being beaten and beaten and people saying things to them about bringing of the disease here.’
The origins of Covid-19 have been the subject of fierce global debate, with early theories suggesting it evolved in bats.
But some scientists speculated that it was actually the result of a leak from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology — though this was largely regarded as a conspiracy theory touted by the fringes of society.
At the time, reports said there was a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes due to pandemic tensions.
An aerial photo shows the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2020, where the virus is believed to have emerged
Beijing has responded to claims that the virus turned up in the Wuhan lab, accusing Washington of “political manipulation.” Pictured: Researchers at work in the Wuhan lab in 2017
But yesterday FBI Director Christopher Wray added weight to the Wuhan theory, claiming that China had “done its best to try to thwart and obscure efforts to determine how the pandemic started.”
Beijing has since fought back, accusing Washington of “political manipulation.”
Earlier in the week, the US Energy Department also concluded with “little confidence” that the Wuhan theory had plausibility.
The news confirmed former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart praising the Wuhan hypothesis in a 2021 episode of the Stephen Colbert show.
Stewart said this week he was baffled by the liberal backlash he received from the comments.
“First of all, I wasn’t waiting for the Department of Energy to think about this,” Stewart said on his new Apple show The Problem.
The bigger problem with all of this is the inability to discuss things within the realm of possibility without falling into absolutes and litmus testing each other on our political allegiances as they grew.
“My bigger problem with that was I thought it was a pretty good piece that expressed how I felt, and the two things that came out of that were that I’m racist against Asian people, and how dare I join myself in the alt-right.’
He added, “The part I don’t like about it is the absolute and the dismissive like ‘f**k you, I’m done with you.” I will never forgive you, you have crossed an unforgivable line. You have expressed an opinion that is at odds with mine, or not mine.’
In the 2021 episode, Stewart had claimed that the pandemic was “more than likely science-induced.”
Jon Stewart joked he could be ‘cancelled’ for discussing the lab leak theory he was criticized for citing in 2021
When challenged by host Colbert, he replied, “A chance? Oh my god, there is a new respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China, what should we do?
“Oh do you know who we should ask? The new laboratory for respiratory coronavirus in Wuhan. The disease has the same name as the lab. That’s just a little too weird!’
Goldberg’s admission comes on the heels of co-host Joy Behar who surprisingly defended Marjorie Taylor Greene after the congresswoman revealed she was assaulted by a “insane” woman at a restaurant.
Behar announced on the show’s morning broadcast that she was “on Marjorie’s side.”
“I don’t think anyone should approach us in public and harass us, and neither should you, Marjorie,” Behar said.