Whoopi Goldberg took to Facebook to defend the comments she made about the Jay Z and Solange Knowles elevator fight when she insisted that even a man has the right to hit a woman if she hits him first.
Jay Z and Solange caused a media firestorm when video footage leaked of the singer attacking her rap mogul brother-in-law on an elevator during the Met Gala earlier this month.
While the Carter-Knowles family is ready to move on, some opinions about the fight are still sparking debates today.
Specifically, a comment that came from Goldberg on the May 13 episode of “The View.”
During the show Goldberg said that anybody has the right to hit back, if they are attacked first.
“I think Solange was quite ready for him to do whatever he was going to do,” she said. “This is the thing: If anybody hits you, you have the right.”
She added: “I know that many people are raised in a different way, but if a woman hits you, to me, you have the right to hit her back.”
That’s when “The View” co-host, Barbara Walters, asked Goldberg if it is ever OK for a man to hit a woman.
Goldberg wasn’t backing down from her original statement.
“If I slap a man, he has every right to slap me back,” she replied.
After a slew of backlash poured in, some accusing the talk show host of encouraging domestic violence, Goldberg took to her Facebook page to defend herself.
She admitted that she knew people would find her comments controversial, but that still wasn’t enough to change her mind about what she said.
“Hey, I know everyone is freaking out like I said that they would when I said if someone hits you, you have the right to hit them back,” the post read.
She clarified that she did not say Jay Z should have hit Solange, but merely that he had the right to.
“I didn’t say Jay Z should have hit Solange,” the post added. “I said, if you hit a man that man has the right to hit you back. That’s what I said. I stand by that.”
Goldberg then addressed the general standard that a man should never hit a woman.
According to her, if a woman doesn’t want to be hit by a man, then she should not hit a man.
“If you hit anybody, they have the right to hit you back,” she added. “This idea that men aren’t supposed to hit women, if you slap a man he has the right to slap you back. Now, not everyone is going to agree and I’m OK with that. But that’s how I feel. That’s why I don’t slap anybody.”
