Did Whoopi Goldberg ”Defend” Vick’s Dog Fighting?
In this overheated media environment it is easy to jump to conclusions, especially when those conclusion lead to good copy. To be fair, The View is a magnet for media contretemps of all sizes. But at the risk of going against conventional wisdom: Did Whoopi Goldberg actually ”defend” Michael Vick’s dog fighting? Looking at some of the attention-grabbing headlines in today’s papers concerning what Goldberg may or may not have actually said you might come away believing that the Oscar winner is an aficionado of animal cruelty. TMZ, of course, led the pack with the posting ”Who Is The Latest Vick Defender” almost immediately after the conclusion of Goldberg’s View debut. It was — surprise! — TMZ’s 8th most commented upon posting.
But that’s just TMZ being TMZ. Unfortunately, major media organizations followed their lead.
Whoopi solidly condemned the sport of dog fighting this morning on her WKTU radio show. She added that anyone who saw her appearance on The View couldn’t possibly have come away with the idea that she was a defender of such an activity.
Yes, Whoopi Goldberg yesterday said that dog fighting was ”indicative to certain parts of the country.” But Goldberg’s explanation yesterday of the sociology underlying dog fighting organizations did not appear to be a vindication of Vick’s role in that criminal enterprise. Michael Vick himself acknowledges that his behavior was criminal. Why would a media luminary like Goldberg contradict a criminal who has already indicted himself? Unfortunately, the idea of Rosie’s replacement defending dog killing is too good a headline to pass up. Accuracy be damned.
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