Whoopi Goldberg says she 'lost everything' after political remark

Whoopi Goldberg has revealed her hosting gig on The View helped her career after she made a jibe at President George W. Bush. Photo / Getty Images

Whoopi Goldberg has opened up about the moment a joke landed her career in hot water.

The Sister Act star made a controversial joke about President George W. Bush during a speech at a fundraiser in New York in 2004.

According to NBC, Goldberg used the President's last name as a sexual reference and as a result, lost out on her endorsement deal with diet giant Slim-fast.

Goldberg looked back on the fallout from that moment in a new interview with Drew Barrymore for her digital series The Art of the Interview and revealed her comments greatly affected her career.

"Listen, I got very, very lucky because I got into some trouble where I pissed off a politician and then I lost everything really," the Oscar winner told Barrymore.

"I lost my ability to make a living, I lost any kind of things that I had going on that would bring me money in, so I didn't work for five years."

.@WhoopiGoldberg and @DrewBarrymore discuss getting the chance to work as daytime hosts and the karmic moment that led to Whoopi being on @TheView.

Watch the full interview: https://t.co/eqR6SOCTx5 pic.twitter.com/ZwUflpiEZG

— The Drew Barrymore Show (@DrewBarrymoreTV) September 7, 2020

Luckily for Goldberg, she landed a new gig as host at The View. She says Barbara Walters offered her the job.

"I had gone through all of my savings. You know taking care of your family, everything is sitting on you. And so, I went through everything and she gave me a job which has lasted 10 years now and I'm really grateful for."

Goldberg won an Oscar for her in the film Ghost (1991) and was previously nominated for best actress for The Colour Purple.

Season 24 of The View starts this week and Goldberg hosts alongside Meghan McCain, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin and Joy Behar.