Whoopi Goldberg ripped up a legal note handed to her by The View co-host Sunny Hoston live on air during the Monday, November 3 episode of the show.
The show in question began with Goldberg, Hoston and the episode’s panelists discussing the ongoing government shutdown. Naturally it didn’t take long at all before Donald Trump’s name was brought up in the conversation, with Goldberg making a remark about the president “using an autopen”, a device used to replicate a signature when an individual is unable to produce their own for one reason or another.
Readers will likely be familiar with the term “autopen”, since Trump has repeatedly accused his predecessor, Joe Biden, of using one throughout his term in the White House when signing presidential documents. Trump also replaced a portrait of Biden with a framed image of an autopen in the White House – yes, he is that petty.
Yet when Goldberg made a joke implying that Trump, who turns 80 next year, was actively using an autopen, her cohost Hoston was quick to pass her a note in the form of a blue index card.
“What the hell? What?” Goldberg said, leading to Hostin – a former attorney who often addresses legal issues on the show – clarifying: “We don’t know if Trump used an autopen.”
Golden then tore up the note, labeling it “ridiculous” and stating: “It was a joke!”
NEW: The View's Whoopi Goldberg rips up a note that was handed to her after ABC forced her to issue a legal correction live.
The moment came after Goldberg claimed Trump was using an autopen.
"What the hell? What?" Goldberg said when she was handed the paper.
"We don't know if… pic.twitter.com/DNFpc2uhqR
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 3, 2025
Visibly ruffled by what had happened, the Sister Act star then decided to lay things out for the audience, stating: “The hardest thing about this job now is no one understands nuance.
“You know, when you hear a joke, when somebody is fooling around, when they’re not saying something specific. Especially on this show. I’m very specific when I’m pointing stuff out. When I’m making jokes, you know when I’m making jokes.”
Golderg and Trump have a history of trading jabs with one another. Last year, Trump shared a meme that claimed the 69-year-old actress would leave the US if he was reelected, writing: “Canada doesn’t want you Whoopi, NOBODY DOES!!!”
Goldberg responded at the time: “He said nobody wanted me. Honey… you know what, it wouldn’t matter if no one here wanted me. But I know where I’m going to be cause I got a contract,” she added. “So I’m going to be where I’m wanted for the next couple of years.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 13: Whoopi Goldberg speaks onstage at Storytellers – Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theater on June 13, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)
Trump has also claimed to have hired Goldberg as a comedian in the past, only to be turned off by her “foul mouth”.
“I’m not particularly shy about what I hear. [But] her mouth was so foul,” Trump said, as per PEOPLE. “She was so filthy, dirty. Disgusting. Half the place left. I said I’d never hire her again!”
Goldberg clapped back: “As it turns out, I was filthy. I was filthy, and stand on that fact. I have always been filthy. And you knew that when you hired me [to be] a headline[r], babe, at your casino — which I might have continued to play had you not run it into the ground!
“You know how dirty I wasn’t?” Goldberg added. “I never grabbed anybody by their genitalia. Many people use the F-bomb. He’s used the F-bomb… But there’s a difference between people who assault other people and people who say words that you don’t want little kids saying in the middle of church.”
