Whoopi Goldberg Sends Support for ‘Friend’ Tiger Woods on ‘The View’

The View‘s hosts reacted to the news that Tiger Woods is now seeking treatment after being arrested for DUI in connection to his recent rollover car crash, during which he was discovered to have hydrocodone in his possession and refused a urine test. And the cohosts were almost unanimous in showing support for the golf pro legend.

Whoopi Goldberg, for one, admitted she would not speak ill of Woods due to their friendship. “Tiger is a friend of mine, and I wish him nothing but the best. I don’t like kicking a man when he’s down. I’ll leave it at that. I’ll leave that to other folks,” she said.

Sunny Hostin also shared a note of sympathy for Woods, saying, “He’s had 20 surgeries, and he lives with back pain. I think we talk about the opioid crisis in this country with such empathy, and when it comes to Tiger Woods, for some reason, we don’t seem to have that empathy for him. I’m not excusing the fact that he was driving under the influence, but I think we need to show someone who is a sports legend, who may have been pushed very hard as a child, some grace for the pain he’s living with and the fact that he, as an athlete, is now having to struggle with the fact that he has to give up the one thing he loves to do.”

Joy Behar did question what that is, saying, “What, driving?” but Hostin clarified that she meant he was stepping away from golf.

Guest cohost Whitney Cummings pointed to his upbringing as problematic, saying he didn’t “get to be a kid” due to pressures to succeed and had a personal reason to relate to Woods. “These opioids are designed so that you can never get off of them … I grew up around addiction. I identify as an addict. It’s a disease that tells you you don’t have a disease. No one wants this,” she said.

Behar, once again, was the lone voice of criticism, saying, “You know what? You’re very rich. Get a driver.”

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However, Goldberg concluded the conversation by defending Woods’ choice not to have a chauffeur, saying, “You don’t want to be that guy that’s just, ‘Well, why is he always being driven around?’ You can’t win.”

The View, weekdays, 11a/10c, ABC