Whoopi Goldberg has hit out at Fox News host Tucker Carlson over the recent controversy surrounding his handling of Capitol riot footage.
During a Fox News segment, Carlson showed surveillance footage of the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol building which downplayed the violence of the incident, presenting the riot as a peaceful protest.
Carlson claimed that media outlets and Democratic politicians had misled the public about the attack, despite real-time evidence showing rioters pushing past police barricades, smashing windows, threatening lawmakers, and storming the halls of the congressional building.
The presenter said that the “overwhelming” majority of rioters “were not insurrectionists, they were sightseers”.
During an appearance on The View on Tuesday (7 March), Goldberg addressed the controversy surrounding Carlson, comparing his coverage to George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.
“We all saw the violent Capitol insurrection play out on live TV back on January 6 2021,” she said. “I don’t think anybody thought it was a TV show, I don’t think anybody was not sure what they were looking at.”
She then showed a clip of footage that was broadcast, showing DC police officer Daniel Hodges being crushed in a confrontation with rioters.
Goldberg continued: “Last night, Tucker Carlson took a page from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and told his viewers to reject the evidence of their eyes and ears.”
“I don’t know what he’s playing at, but people saw what they saw. They saw what they saw and they’ve seen what’s gone down with it. And no matter what, you can’t put this monkey back in the cage. You can’t.
“This was insurrection and just was what it was, so people are very upset. His viewers, maybe they’re going to buy it, I don’t know.”
Follow the latest updates on the Tucker Carlson story here.
