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Whoopi Goldberg has demanded the British royal family to apologize for their colonial past, stressing that the crown cannot “ignore the fact that Britain ran roughshod over India for years.”
On Thursday, the co-host of “The View” slammed the monarchy when discussing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s ongoing tour of the Caribbean.
“We cannot ignore the fact that Britain ran roughshod over India for years,” said the 66-year-old. “Let us not forget, when we talk about what needs to happen, all the folks that need to apologize.”
“Listen, this is not new,” the actress continued. “I suspect Charles, when he was in Barbados [in 2021] had some idea because he went on and apologized as he was releasing the hold that Britain has. So perhaps somebody is listening, and it’s the new group of folks – I don’t know if it’s Charles, William, but one of them is supposed to be the person.”
PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON VISIT THE BAHAMAS FOLLOWING PROTESTS IN JAMAICA
Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of ‘The View,’ has demanded that the British royal family apologize for its history of slavery. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are currently on the final leg of their Caribbean tour.
(Getty Images)
Goldberg’s comment came a day after Prince William expressed his “profound sorrow” over slavery and Britain’s role in it during a speech he delivered in Jamaica.
“I want to express my profound sorrow. Slavery was abhorrent. And it should never have happened,” the Duke of Cambridge said during a dinner hosted by the Governor-General of Jamaica at King’s House in Kingston.
“While the pain runs deep, Jamaica continues to forge its future with determination, courage and fortitude,” William continued. “The strength and shared sense of purpose of the Jamaican people, represented in your flag and motto, celebrate an invincible spirit.”
The 39-year-old also repeated words his father used in a speech he made in Barbados last year in which he condemned “the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains our history.”
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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrive for a visit of Sybil Strachan Primary School on March 25, 2022, in Nassau, Bahamas.
(Samir Hussein – Pool/WireImag)
While William said he “strongly” agreed with his father’s words, he stopped short of apologizing.
The show’s co-host, Sunny Hostin, pointed out, “The Brits rarely, especially the royals, rarely talk about their history of enslavement. They rarely talk about how they got their wealth off the backs of Black people.”
Goldberg’s remarks came a month after she was suspended following comments made about the Holocaust. Goldberg was publicly criticized after she said the Holocaust was not about race, but rather about man’s inhumanity to others. She apologized, but ABC Newresident Kim Godwin told her to sit out for two weeks.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have touched down in Barbados as they kick off the final leg of their Caribbean tour.
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Prince Charles, Prince of Wales gives a speech during the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony at Heroes Square on Nov. 30, 2021, in Bridgetown, Barbados.
(Jonathan Brady – Pool/Getty Images)
Despite the warm welcomes from many locals, the royal tour has been faced with controversy. During the couple’s visit to Jamaica, protesters gathered wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a pair of shackled Black wrists surrounded by the phrases “Seh Yuh Sorry!” and “Apologize now!”
The protest in front of the British High Commission in Kingston came a couple of days after dozens of prominent leaders in Jamaica publicized a letter demanding that Britain apologize and award its former colony slavery reparations.
They also decried the weeklong Central American and Caribbean tour that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embarked on Saturday, which coincides with Jamaica’s 60th independence anniversary and the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
“Kings, Queens and Princesses and Princes belong in fairytales, NOT in Jamaica!” read one poster held aloft by a young girl who joined the protest.
PRINCE WILLIAM EXPRESSES ‘PROFOUND SORROW’ OVER BRITAIN’S ROLE IN ‘ABHORRENT’ SLAVE TRADE
People protest the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Kingston, Jamaica, on March 22, 2022.
(RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images)
The royal couple’s trip, which began with a stop in Belize followed by visits to Jamaica and the Bahamas, was organized at the queen’s behest as some countries debate cutting ties to the monarchy like Barbados did in November.
The British Empire controlled Jamaica for more than 300 years and forced hundreds of thousands of African slaves to toil the island under brutal conditions. Sugar replaced tobacco and cocoa as the main crop, with some 430 sugar estates reported by the mid-1700s, up from 57 nearly a century prior, according to Jamaica Information Services, a government agency.
The group protesting the royal visit noted in its letter that the British raped and killed thousands of slaves as it sought an apology for 60 reasons, including “for refusing to acknowledge the historic trade in Africans as a crime against humanity,” and for “pretending that the British led the abolition movement, when our ancestors worked, prayed and fought hard for this.”
Ahead of their trip, Jamaican singer Beenie Man told the TV show “Good Morning Britain” that the U.K. still controls the commonwealth of Jamaica. “It’s all about the queen, and the queen serves and the queen this and that – but what are they doing for Jamaica?” he said. “They’re not doing anything for us.”
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge visit Trench Town, the birthplace of reggae music, on day four of the Platinum Jubilee Royal Tour of the Caribbean on March 22, 2022, in Kingston, Jamaica.
(Photo by Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage)
The monarchy has said that Britain and Jamaica have a strong trade relationship, with the island exporting goods including rum and raw cane sugar to the U.K. It also noted the creation of programs targeting poverty, security, natural disaster management, social issues and the economy.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the couple on Wednesday that the British commonwealth intends to become fully independent – an unexpected announcement that comes as other countries consider cutting ties with the monarchy.
Holness also noted that there are “unresolved” issues as he greeted the pair in front of a media scrum.
“We are moving on,” he said. “We intend to…fulfill our true ambitions and destiny as an independent, developed, prosperous country.”
PRINCE CHARLES DENOUNCES THE ‘ATROCITY OF SLAVERY’ AS BARBADOS BECOMES A REPUBLIC, CUTS TIES WITH UK
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge during the official arrival at Lynden Pindling International Airport on March 24, 2022, in Nassau, Bahamas.
(Samir Hussein/WireImage)
The couple’s trip to Belize also suffered a hitch when a planned visit to a cacao farm in Belize was scrapped because of local opposition.
According to local reports, a protest was staged opposing the royal visit to Akte ’il Ha cacao farm in Indian Creek village in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. Belize news outlet Channel 7 reported that there is a dispute between village residents and Flora and Fauna International, a conservation charity William supports as a patron.
A spokesperson from Kensington Palace told Fox News Digital that “due to sensitive issues involving the community in Indian Creek, the visit has been moved to a different location.”
The government of Belize said, “another venue has been selected to showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao industry.”
PRINCE WILLIAM’S COMMENT ABOUT ‘ALIEN’ UKRAINE CONFLICT SPARKED BACKLASH FOR THIS REASON
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge dances during a traditional Garifuna festival on the second day of a Platinum Jubilee Royal Tour of the Caribbean on March 20, 2022, in Hopkins, Belize.
(Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
William is second in line to the throne after his father Charles, 73. The trip is intended to strengthen the U.K.’s ties with Commonwealth countries as the queen, William’s grandmother, marks 70 years on the throne.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
