Nothing is going to stop Whoopi Goldberg from speaking her mind when it comes to president Donald Trump … including the threat of potential legal action. On Monday’s episode of The View, not only did Whoopi refuse to clarify a joke she made at Trump’s expense, but she also tore up the note that was meant to make her reconsider her comment on the first place. She’s not messing around!
It all started when Whoopi cracked a joke about Trump “using an autopen” during a discussion of the current government shutdown — something that Trump has accused former president Joe Biden of using on multiple occasions.
Fellow View panelist Sunny Hostin (a former attorney) then passed Whoopi a note right there on camera, which appears to have been her way of asking the comedian to clarify her comments, since she could be making a claim that isn’t true.
“We don’t know if Trump used an autopen,” Sunny said when Whoopi questioned the note.
She didn’t seem too worried about any possible legal blowback she might receive for that joke, though. Rather than try to backtrack on her comments, Whoopi instead ripped up the note from Sunny, calling it “ridiculous.”
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.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 3, 2025
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
The exchange ended up sending Whoopi on a bit of a rant.
“The hardest thing about this job now is no one understands nuance,” she said. “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.”
Whoopi received a lot of cheering and applause from the audience for that statement, so it seems like she wasn’t the only one in the room who didn’t feel that her joke needed more explanation.
Then again, this isn’t the first time that Whoopi has gone after Trump on The View, and it definitely won’t be the last. Maybe Sunny will think twice before passing her a note next time?
