Whoopi Goldberg, a longtime ally of the LGBTQ+ community, “came out” as straight during an interview on Raven-Symoné and Miranda Pearman’s podcast, The Best Podcast Ever With Raven and Miranda. During the interview, Symoné, Goldberg’s former co-host of The View, asked the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony-Award-winning actress about her sexual orientation. Goldberg responded, “I am not a lesbian, but I know lots of them, and I’ve played them on television. I have always had lesbian friends because they’re just my friends.” Like many LGBTQ+ supportive actors faced with similar inquiries, Goldberg used the opportunity to share a wider message of acceptance and tolerance. On the topics of drag bans and gay marriage, Goldberg said that nobody is forcing people to go and participate in either activity. If they like it, they can go. Goldberg has previously portrayed lesbian or same-gender-loving characters, most notably in the movies The Color Purple and Boys on the Side. While Goldberg’s exchange with Symoné was a conversation between friends and former colleagues, Abbott Elementary actor Tyler James Williams shared a post on his Instagram Story a couple of months ago pointing out out the danger of questions like Symoné’s. He said, “The culture of trying to ‘find’ some kind of hidden trait or behavior that a closeted person ‘let slip’ is very dangerous.”
