Whoopi Goldberg says even EGOT status doesn’t guarantee work: ‘I still have to support myself’
TheGrio...
Whoopi Goldberg reflects on decades of proving herself in Hollywood, landing “Sister Act,” and why she’s still asking to be cast in roles.
Black women are no strangers to carving their own lane. From entertainment to fashion to politics, there is a long list of Black professionals who made a way out of no way in their industries. And arguably one of the most iconic women to do so in entertainment is Whoopi Goldberg.
However, long before she accepted the Grammy for Best Comedy Recording for “Whoopi Goldberg: Original Broadway Show,” Goldberg was an aspiring actress eager to share her talent with a world that continually underestimated her.
“I knew that because I couldn’t get hired at the Old Globe. I couldn’t get hired at the Berkeley Rep. I needed to put together something that showed what I knew I could do,” Goldberg revealed of the one-woman show’s ethos, in an interview with Keke Palmer.
That act of proving what she can do, Goldberg says, persists to this day. Even as the first Black woman to hold EGOT status, the first woman and Black woman to host the Oscars solo, the first Black person to land Academy Award nominations in the acting and supporting acting categories, and the first Black woman to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the “Sister Act” star explains how she’s constantly shooting her shot for projects.
“Every accolade I’ve received, I am grateful for. But it doesn’t always translate into work. It’s nice that I have all those things, but do I constantly have to say to people, ‘I’d like to work with you’? Yeah,” she shared. “Because I don’t come right up in your mind. I’m not the first one you think of. So I constantly say to people, ‘Yes, I’m still open for this.’ And especially now because people say, ‘Well, you’re on ‘The View.’ You can’t do anything.’ …If I need to go, I go.”
Though the assumptions have shifted from casting directors thinking she would be “too much” for a role like Oda Mae Brown in “Ghost” to people assuming that she’s “too good” or “too busy” for a role, the reality of these assumptions being placed on her is one that is hard to ignore.
“I still have to support myself,” she shared, explaining how the prestige of “The View” does not necessarily translate financially. Admitting that the daily talk show is not her highest-paying gig, Goldberg noted: “The truth of the matter is very few of us are actually making the kind of money you’re reading about.”
Throughout her career, Goldberg recalls only two roles being written for her, one of which was “The Color Purple.” In other projects, she either had to audition or advocate for herself just to get an audition.
“I was looking for work. Because apparently I’m Black, and I didn’t realize it, so every time I went looking for something, they were like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. This isn’t for you.’ So, I said to my agents, ‘Give me all the stuff that people have turned down,” she said, explaining that the strategy is how she landed a place in “Sister Act,” “Burglar,” “Jumping Jack Flash,” and more. “I think because people 30 years ago, 40 years ago, had a limited idea of what could be done. And had a limited idea of what I could do cuz clearly they hadn’t seen my show.”
Fast-forward 40 years, and Goldberg is watching that same production reimagined by the next generation of Black actresses, including Kerry Washington, Jurnee Smollett, Kara Young, Dominique Fishback, and Kecia Lewis. And she is praised for her signature look and for being unapologetically herself.
“I think it’s so lovely for people to say that but it wasn’t always that way,” she said of Palmer, referring to her as a fashion icon. “There used to be a lot of talk in the old days about how odd I dressed because I wore sneakers to the Oscars. I didn’t want to put my feet in those high heels. So when I want to do it, I do it. When I don’t want to do it, I make I, you know, I’ll put combat boots on under a gown. I don’t care cuz I really don’t want to be uncomfortable in what I’m wearing.”
Her commitment to comfort she says has expanded into not wearing bras, a freeing choice she says comes with age.
“But there are certain things that happen when you become a person of a certain age, where you’re not worried about what your body is going to do. So you can do that when you have a woman of a certain age. You can free it all up. But you have to wait,” she joked.
However, one could argue that throughout her career, Goldberg has exemplified the beauty and power in marching to the beat of your own drum.