Whoopi Goldberg left the set of “The View” during a heated discussion about the recent scandal involving country music artist Miranda Lambert. She did so to demonstrate a point.
Goldberg and her co-hosts on the program were discussing Lambert’s decision to publicly admonish concertgoers for photographing her performance from very close proximity.
In response to some women snapping photographs in the front row, Lambert paused her performance and said, “These girls are worried about their selfies and not listening to the song. It’s pissing me off a little bit. We’re here to hear some country music tonight. And I’m singing some country damn music.”
One of the show’s co-hosts, Sunny Hostin, stated that if she had spent the same amount of money on front-row tickets as Lambert’s fans, she wouldn’t have felt guilty about taking a few photos to recall the occasion.
“Tickets in the VIP section that they were in are $757,” declared an incensed Hostin. “Imma take as many selfies as I want if I paid $757. I’m sorry. Just me.”
“Stay home,” Goldberg disagreed, saying that someone who paid that much for tickets ought to want to attend the performance. “If you’re gonna spend $750,000 to — $750 to come to my concert, then give me the respect of watching me while I’m doing my thing. Or don’t come.”
One of the show’s co-hosts, Sunny Hostin, stated that if she had spent the same amount of money on front-row tickets as Lambert’s fans, she wouldn’t have felt guilty about taking a few photos to recall the occasion.
Hostin replied, “Perhaps I’ll play it again,” adding that she may record a photo or video with the music playing in the background to view later.
“Turn on the television, girl,” Goldberg said as she rose from her chair and exited the table.
Joy Behar, co-host, inquired, “Where are you going?” Horton reiterated the question.
Goldberg’s response, “I’m leaving y’all,” elicited amusement from the audience and co-hosts seated at their desks. Even though he gave the impression that the debate was over, Goldberg did not appear particularly angry.
“Adela Calin — who was one of the fans in the group — since spoke out about the incident, sharing that she was “appalled” by Lambert’s comment,” reported NBC News.
“It felt like I was back at school with the teacher scolding me for doing something wrong and telling me to sit down back in my place,” the 43-year-old told NBC News. “I feel like she was determined to make us look like we were young, immature and vain. But we were just grown women in our 30s to 60s trying to take a picture.”
“Calin added that she and her friends had tried to take a group photo before the show, but they “couldn’t get one good picture” due to the lighting.” NBC New York continued.
“We were so excited,” she recalled, “because I think we had the best seats in the house in the whole theater.”
And while Calin is disappointed by Lambert’s behavior, she noted that the three-time Grammy winner was likely being hypervigilant about her personal space given the growing number of performers — including fellow country star Kelsea Ballerini — being struck by thrown objects during shows in recent months.
Check out the video of Lambert:
DEBATE: Miranda Lambert stopped her concert to scold to fans who were taking selfies while she sang. Were they wrong to take pictures instead of listening to the music? Or their right to enjoy the concert however they want since they paid for it? pic.twitter.com/cTE9VudGeD
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) July 17, 2023