Actress, comedian, and “The View” host Whoopi Goldberg says the reality TV show “American Idol” is one of the factors responsible for society’s decline. The 67-year-old made this declaration while talking to her “The View” co-hosts. While talking about a recent Netflix documentary, “Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me.” Goldberg concluded, “People like to be judgy.”
According to Goldberg, the power to evaluate others, which contestants experience on “American Idol,” has gotten out of hand. She believes that it is hurting the society as a whole. “You have Basketball Wives, You have the Housewives of whatever,” Whoopi Goldberg said.
“All the Bravo shows give you the impression that you’re doing something wrong because you’re living your life.” She continued, “People watch these shows because they make them feel better. I think that we, as a society, love to watch stuff to judge folks.”
“You know, I’ve always thought that the beginning of the downfall of society was with “American Idol,” she stated on the show. “Once we gave people the ability to judge other people, I think we ran amok with it. And it has gone out of control.”
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Whoopi Goldberg explained, “They invited the public to decide who that person was. Once we did that, it began us in a cycle, which we have not escaped.” Following the renowned actress’ comments, social media went ablaze.
However, psychology professors doubled down on Whoopi Goldberg’s stance, saying she was right. They stated that although mainstream media may amplify her comment and make it divisive, her statement speaks volumes about human behavior.
They claim humans are often judgmental, but more often than not, they do it intuitively, without even realizing it. Also, many argued Goldberg was trying to explain the effect reality TV shows have on viewers.
They noted that the shows make viewers highly opinionated, following whatever packaged and commercialized opinion media outlets throw at them. Others added that people no longer make objective decisions based on their standards.
In addition, fans of the actress said personal opinions help people assess situations or individuals. However, they argued that viewers of reality TV shows often tend to agree and change their minds based on a judge’s opinion on the TV show.
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Following the remark, Goldberg and her co-hosts tried to water down her comments. They realized that “The View” and “American Idol” are on the same network, ABC. Not wanting her fellow host to get into trouble with the network, Sunny Hostin jumped in, “You like it. ABC, she likes it. ABC, she loves it. It’s really good.”
Similarly, Goldberg began to take a step back with her words. “When I was watching it, ABC didn’t have it. They have it now; it’s a different show,” she said. “The judges are different from the people who are coming. ABC knows that I feel like this. I’ve told them. It had nothing to do with them. It had to do with the show.”
Furthermore, another co-host, Alyssa Farah Griffin, tried to save Whoopi Goldberg from potential trouble. Griffin mentioned that the actress was not talking about today’s version of the show but the “Simon Cowell era.”
Cowell’s era was when judges were much harsher and borderline insulting, and many people disliked it. Now, viewers accuse the judges of offering criticism and being soft on contestants. Consequently, the show has declined in popularity in the last decade.
Although some argue that Cowell’s approach was better, it is essential to note that there were not many reality competitions, nor were there streaming service options. Hence, the viewership was much higher, and the show was more influential.
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