Tone-deaf Whoopi Goldberg: Uproar over Hollywood elites 'really pisses me off' because 'a lot of us work for a living'

Whoopi Goldberg got a bit ornery on "The View" Thursday over growing complaints about Hollywood "elites," saying such talk "pisses me off" and that "a lot of us work for a living."

What are the details?

The program's co-hosts were weighing in on one of the biggest stories of the week, that actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Academy Awards ceremony Sunday.

Co-host Sunny Hostin was frustrated that Smith reportedly refused to leave the building after being asked to do so, which she said "shows an incredible amount of entitlement and a misunderstanding, fundamentally, of what he had done." Anonymous sources have disputed the claim that Smith was asked to leave the event.

"The View" conversation soon shifted to disappointment with Oscar audience members who gave Smith a standing ovation for his best actor award a short time after he slapped Rock. Guest co-host Tara Setmayer — a former CNN political commentator and former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill — wasn't down with the applause for Smith.

Setmayer said the crowd's behavior "goes back to why some people feel like Hollywood elites are a bunch of hypocrites because they go out there and give these statements of moral superiority about things and political statements, and then they’re ... doing a standing ovation after he just assaulted Chris Rock.”

But Goldberg wasn't having it, interjecting that "as one of those people, I gotta stop you."

'It really pisses me off'

"I just wanna stop with this 'elite' stuff because, you know, a lot of us work for a living. We work. We collect a check. We got families," she said. "We try to do the same thing, the good stuff that everybody else tries to do.”

Goldberg added that "it really pisses me off when people start to talk about people who work in Hollywood, not just actors, but all the other folks. So please, when you're talking about actors, be specific.”

Are folks who are tired of Hollywood elites really thinking about those "entitled" key grips, "woke" best boys, and "super rich" craft services personnel? No, they're thinking about celebrities like Goldberg.

Whoopi wasn't through, though. She added that if individuals are “pissed off about somebody or how they act, don’t put it on all of us, 'cause that’s like saying all black people like chicken.”

Here's the clip. The relevant portion starts just after the three-minute mark:

Anything else?

Rock declined to press charges against Smith minutes after the slap, and Smith issued an apology to Rock on Instagram a day later. The Academy on Wednesday said its board of governors had launched disciplinary proceedings against Smith.

In Boston at his first show this week for his new comedy tour, Rock didn't break down anything about Smith's slap with his Boston audience, only saying that he's still "processing" the incident. Although he did quip to the crowd, "How was your weekend?"

(H/T: IJR)