Whoopi Goldberg has branded 'American Idol' the start of society's "downfall"
The 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' actress, 67, made the declaration while talking to her 'The View' co-hosts about a recent Netflix documentary on the final days of Anna Nicole Smith's life and came to the conclusion "people like to be judgy"
28 May 2023
She said about the trend being evident in reality TV: "You have 'Basketball Wives,' you have the 'Housewives' of whatever, all the Bravo shows, giving you the impression that you're doing something wrong because you're living your life.
"People watch these shows because they make them feel better. I think that we, as a society, love to watch stuff to judge folks."
She added on the ABC show to 46-year-old ex ecutive producer Brian Teta: "You know, I've always thought that the beginning of the downfall of society was with, um, what's the name of that show I always tell you that?"
He attempted to remind Whoopi the show they evidently discussed off-camera are both broadcast on the same network, prompting the comic to say: "Well, it wasn't always on ABC."
She carried on: "Once we gave people the ability to judge other people, I think we ran amok with it. And it's gone out of control.
"They invited the public to decide who their person was."
When Brian made a gesture off camera, Whoopi joked: "Did you really just do that?"
When he said the show had "gotten better" and told Whoopi "you like it now", she said: "When I was watching it, ABC didn't have it. We have it now, and it's a different show... ABC knows I feel like this, I've told them. It has nothing to do with them; it's to do with the show."
'American Idol, which ran on Fox from 2002 to 2016 before returning in 2018 on ABC with singers Luke Bryan, 46, Lionel Richie, 73, and Katy Perry, 38, as judges.
It has hit headlines this series as Katy has been accused of "mom-shaming" a contestant and criticising another's outfit.
A source told Page Six the pop star never meant any offence, and another insider said to the Daily Mail: "Katy feels like (the producers) threw her under the bus," adding she is now "being looked at as a nasty reality show judge".
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