Whoopi Goldberg has denied “insane” rumours that she’s on Jeffrey Epstein’s list.
Earlier this week, the names of dozens of high-profile figures with connections to the late sex offender were made public with the release of court documents. Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton were among the associates as well as Michael Jackson and Stephen Hawking.
Numerous online trolls had claimed that Goldberg was on the list and she dispelled the rumours on Thursday’s (January 4) episode of The View, branding the accusations “insane”.
“Apparently they said I was on an island, and I’m like, ‘I don’t go anywhere,’” Goldberg said.
“So I’m just going to say — and there’s just been a lot of stuff recently, I don’t know what I’ve done to anybody — but apparently there are a lot of the sites and they’re satire sites and people don’t realise they can be harmful.”
Goldberg went on to quash numerous other rumours about her that was circulating online. “I never got kicked out of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant. I never got kicked out of Guy Fieri’s restaurant. I didn’t get kicked off Bill Maher’s show. I didn’t get into a fight with Oprah backstage here at The View. I mean, it just goes — it’s insane. It goes on and on and on.”
Goldberg concluded with a lighthearted reminder of her directness. “Back to me,” she began. “Don’t believe unless I tell you about me. You’ll know if I am doing something. I’ll let you know! I have nothing to hide. I don’t care what people think. If I like doing it, I’m gonna let you know.’
“But if they told you Oprah was backstage and you didn’t see Oprah on the show … It’s so insane! And you know I don’t go anywhere! Unless I tell you I went somewhere. OK? Are we good?”
The Epstein list was revealed as part of a 2015 US defamation case by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who supplied Epstein with underage girls.
Giuffre settled her civil claim against Maxwell, but representatives of the media successfully argued documents that were sealed as part of the case should be made public.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in Manhattan in August 2019 where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, which she begun in July 2020.