Whoopi Goldberg says Hollywood figures used to disrespectfully touch her natural hair

“I’ve been fighting that battle a long time,” Goldberg told Kerry Washington on The View.

Whoopi Goldberg has revealed that, throughout her career, she’s had to teach disrespectful Hollywood professionals how to handle her natural hair.

During an interview on Wednesday’s episode of The View, the Oscar-winning actress and panel moderator discussed embracing her hair with School for Good and Evil star Kerry Washington, whom has long supported Senator Cory Booker’s 2019 CROWN Act that aims to foster “a respectful and open environment for natural hair” in the workplace.

“It’s taken a little while,” Goldberg told Washington after the performer spoke in favor of “embracing our natural beauty” on the set of the new Netflix film that contains “so much natural texture” on its diverse cast.

“I will say, I’ve been fighting that battle a long time,” Goldberg continued, reaching her hand up to grab a piece of her hair and stretch it out. “People would touch me and go, ‘Well what are we going to do with this?’ Just like that. I used to say, ‘Well, you’re going to get your hands out of it, first.”

Whoopi Goldberg and Kerry Washington discuss natural hair on ‘The View’. ABC (2)

Goldberg stressed that many people “don’t understand why it’s not a good thing to just come up and say stuff like that,” and that “you have to teach people how you want to be dealt with.”

Earlier in the discussion, cohost Sunny Hostin said that when she “first got into television,” she was told that her natural hair didn’t look professional.

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@kerrywashington: "I don't talk about politics because I'm an actor, I talk about politics because I'm an American. I live here, and I care about the things that happen here, and so I never want to give up my right to be politically engaged."

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— The View (@TheView) October 26, 2022

“We want to make sure people aren’t being discriminated against for racially different hairstyles: Braids, [dreadlocks], natural texture,” Washington said. “In a lot of places, historically, people have said that you don’t look professional because you wear your hair in a more natural way.”

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC. Watch a portion of Washington’s interview with the ladies above.