Whoopi Goldberg Says A Good Check Keeps Her On “The View”

Whoopi Goldberg gave a three-word answer when asked why she keeps returning to “The View” after nearly two decades: “A good check.”

In a W interview, she compared her TV pay with what Hollywood would offer her.

“That’s really what it is. I’m well-paid, and I do a good job. I earn my dough, and sometimes people like it, sometimes they don’t. No one is going to pay me guy money to be in a movie. I get what I can, have as good a time as I can, and I don’t really worry about it too much,” Goldberg reasoned.

She said Bette Midler had been the first choice for “Sister Act,” a role Goldberg got after Midler passed on it.

Goldberg said she earned her salary. She also said Barbara Walters hired her to share her opinions, something she still took seriously.

The paycheck was already a topic when she visited Keke Palmer’s “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer” podcast on August 4.

According to TheWrap, Goldberg told Palmer the amount would surprise people, though she did not reveal a dollar figure. She also explained that she needed work, which brought her to the daytime panel.

“I needed a job. Barbara [Walters] offered me a job,” she said. Goldberg had been working in radio when Walters approached her about an opening on the show. She accepted the offer.

In that August conversation, Goldberg said she appreciated having reliable work while others struggled to find jobs.

She also said she enjoyed the chance to talk through issues and exchange ideas with people. Viewers who disagreed with her didn’t change that: different opinions were part of the job.

The first “Sister Act” arrived in 1992. Goldberg returned for “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” the following year, with Lauryn Hill among the cast. A third movie would bring Goldberg back to a series whose first two installments came out more than three decades ago.

Her plans for another “Sister Act” have included some familiar names in music. In her 2022 conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, Goldberg said she wanted Nicki Minaj, Lizzo and Palmer to join her in the third film. She was discussing a wish list at the time, with a script expected later that month.

The W conversation also returned to “Sister Act 3.” Goldberg said she had hoped to make it before Maggie Smith died. Fans around the world still embraced the films, she said.