Whoopi Goldberg Boasts About Pay After Saying She Can’t Retire

Whoopi Goldberg has drawn fresh attention to her sizable salary on The View, nearly two years after saying she did not have the financial freedom to step away from work.

Goldberg, 70, has been one of the defining faces of the ABC daytime talk show since 2007, when she joined the panel as Rosie O’Donnell’s replacement. O’Donnell had exited three weeks early after a heated on-air clash with fellow co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

By 2016, Goldberg’s annual pay was reportedly in the range of $5 million to $6 million, according to Ramin Sotoodeh, who later chronicled behind-the-scenes drama at the program in his bestselling book Ladies Who Punch, via Variety.

Last month, a source alleged that Goldberg was the highest-paid host of the ABC series with a salary estimated to be in the seven figures, according to Page Six.

Still, during an episode broadcast shortly after the 2024 election, Goldberg insisted she considered herself a “working person” and suggested she would retire if money were no object. “If I had all the money in the world, I would not be here, okay?” she said at the time.

Now, however, Goldberg has hinted that her compensation is far larger than many viewers might imagine, telling Keke Palmer on the podcast Baby, This Is Keke Palmer that people “would be shocked” if they knew the figure.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Goldberg and ABC for comment.

“Listen, you would be shocked,” Goldberg told Palmer, adding that “as soon as they showed you that check, you’d be like: ‘What the f***?’”

The Oscar-winning actress refrained from providing any specific numbers but said slyly: ‘It is what it is,’ as Palmer whooped: ‘Praise God!’

Goldberg, who holds an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony), also airily divulged that she would be willing to leave The View for another project.

The Sister Act star let slip that ‘I constantly say to people: “Yes, I’m still open for this.” And especially now, ’cause people say: “Well, you’re on The View, you can’t do anything.” You know, if I need to go, I go. If I need to go.’ 

When Palmer asked whether The View was ‘the best paying job you’ve had over the course of all the things you’ve done,’ Goldberg said without hesitation: ‘No.’

Goldberg now comperes The View alongside Joy Behar – the show’s longest-lasting star – Sunny Hostin, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines and Ana Navarro.

Shortly after the 2024 election, Goldberg was participating in a roundtable discussion on the show about working class Americans who had voted for Donald Trump when she claimed that she herself could not afford to retire.

‘If I had all the money in the world, I would not be here, okay? So, I’m a working person,’ she said on the episode, a day before her 69th birthday.

‘I appreciate that people are having a hard time. Me too. I work for a living,’ the Ghost actress insisted. ‘My kid has to feed her family. My great-granddaughter has to be fed by her family. I know it’s hard out there.’

However last month, it was reported that although multiple hosts on The View had seen their salaries slashed, Goldberg was still making seven figures, via Page Six.

Meanwhile Alyssa Farah Griffin’s request for a substantial increase to her purported mid-six-figure salary was alleged to have been refused.

An insider also claimed that the anchors had reacted with exasperation to news that the show’s wardrobe budget had suffered cuts.

‘They’re all mad because they were all wearing really expensive designer clothes, and now it’s the same budget of a Wendy Williams-type show versus a marquee daytime show,’ said the source. ‘They keep downsizing and downsizing and downsizing.’