The View host recently made an impactful return to the show following a battle with COVID-19. Whoopi Goldberg strutted back to set after missing the season 27 premiere, with some new bling around her neck that featured a silver folding chair.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the necklace honored Reggie Ray, nicknamed “the folding chairman,” following his role in the Aug. 5 riverfront brawl in Montgomery.
“I have to lead this off by saying we do not condone violence on this show,” Goldberg began the segment. “But there was a story that happened last month in Montgomery, [Alabama] where a riverboat captain [with]227 passengers was trying to dock his boat in the spot he’s supposed to be in, so the co-captain, who happened to be Black, went to confront this pontoon boat that was in the way,” she explained the scene that involved the group of white boaters who attacked Black dock worker, Damien Pickett. “So a fight ensued, and something happened that we have not seen.”
“Black people came out of nowhere,” Goldberg praised the group of Black people who came to Pickett’s defense. “We dropped out of the sky. It was crazy. The memes were off the hook. I am wearing a folding chair.”
The Associated Press reported that Ray’s actions were considered self-defense of himself and others, which only landed him a disorderly conduct misdemeanor. Four of the white boaters pleaded guilty after being charged with assault.
“What we all take away from this is if we don’t want to be hit, we do not hit other people. When somebody is doing their job, let them do their job. We’re making light of this,” Goldberg added in the segment. She and fellow cohost Sunny Hostin agreed that the brawl could have easily taken a turn for the worse if guns were involved.
RELATED CONTENT: Montgomery Brawl ‘Folding Chair Man’ Arrested
