Academy-Award winning and four-time Oscars-hosting Whoopi Goldberg was not part of the montage of the Academy Awards' 80 most exciting moments on Sunday. On Monday, an emotional and disappointed Whoopi received applauds and support from The View's audience and solidarity from her co-hosts. Sherri Shepherd was confused by Whoopi's omission and told the actress, "You were the first Black woman to host the Oscars, you were the first woman to host the Oscars." And Joy Behar comforted Whoopi, saying "you did make history." Today the dis was explained. The producer of the show, Gil Cates, said, "No harm was intended, and I feel very, very badly that she was left out.... I'm going to call her and tell her that... I asked her to be on the show. She did it twice.... She is a formidable talent..." The omission, Cates said, was "an absolute oversight."
So how did this "oversight" happen? An optimistic Elisabeth Hasselbeck suggested to Whoopi, "Maybe they accidentally lost a clip of you hosting." A more skeptical Sherri Shepherd seemed frustrated with the Academy saying "it's not very hard to figure out who hosted the Oscars four times."
Sherry, who I assume was being sincere and not sarcastic, and Elizabeth made me think. What if they did lose the tape? What if they couldn't keep track of when/ where/ if Whoopi was ever on the Oscars at all? I had been blaming the victim: the strapped, under-resourced production team behind the Oscars. So, to assist the understaffed, and underserved Academy, I started compiling the Academy Awards' most exciting Whoopi moments. Here are a few I was able to find by doing an exhaustive 10 minute search on the internets.
Most exciting Whoopi moment #1: Whoopi is nominated for her first Oscar in 1985 for her lead role as Celie Harris in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, making her the 5th black actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Most exciting Whoopi moment #2: Whoopi is nominated in 1990 or the second time for an Oscar for her supporting role as Oda Mae Brown in Jerry Zucker's Ghost, becoming the only black woman to receive two Academy Award nominations.
Most exciting Whoopi moment #3: This time, Whoopi wins, and is the first black woman to win an Oscar since Hattie McDaniel won the Award for her supporting role as Mammy, the house servant, in Victor Fleming's Gone with the Wind in 1940.
Most exciting Whoopi moment #4: Whoopi accepts her Oscar, saying: "I come from New York; as a kid, I lived in the projects and you're the people I watched...you're the people that made me wanna be an actor... I'm so proud to be here, I'm proud to be an actor and I'm gonna keep on acting, and thank you so much!"
Most exciting Whoopi moment #5: Whoopi hosts the Academy Awards in 1994, becoming the first woman to host the Oscars, the first black woman to host the Oscars, and the first Oscar-winner to host the Oscars.
Most exciting Whoopi moment #6: Whoopi hosts the Academy Awards again in 1996.
Most exciting Whoopi moment #7: Whoopi hosts the Academy Awards in 1999. She appears on stage in "white face," wearing a Queen Elizabeth costume, inspired by Cate Blanchet's role as the Queen in Elizabeth. Whoopi introduces herself as the "African Queen," and says, "Some of you may know me as the Virgin Queen, but I can't imagine who."
Most exciting Whoopi moment #8: Whoopi hosts the Academy Awards in 2002. She covers up the Oscars statue, making fun of then Attorney General John Ashcroft's move to cover the breasts of the art deco statues of justice in the Department of Justice. Whoopi changes into outfits inspired by nominated films like Moulin Rouge.
Most exciting Whoopi moment #9: Whoopi gets to host a history-making Academy Awards show in which Denzel Washington wins his first Academy Award and Halle Berry becomes the first black woman (EVER) to win the Oscar for Best Actress.
Most UN-exciting NON-Whoopi moment #10: Academy Awards omit Whoopi from their montage.
(Academy, feel free to use any or all of these moments. Just try not to forget to include me as a citation. That would be an absolute oversight.)
So tell Whoopi you haven't forgotten about her. Show your support for Whoopi by supporting a great cause she supports: check out Trade Plus Aid.
Orginially posted on TakePart.com.