ABC host Whoopi Goldberg complained during a recent broadcast that she had been unable to get her favorite birthday treat from a local...
ABC host Whoopi Goldberg complained during a recent broadcast that she had been unable to get her favorite birthday treat from a local Staten Island bakery — and she claimed that her political views were likely the reason for the alleged snub — but the bakery owner said otherwise.
Goldberg had ordered a trifle-like dessert called the Charlotte Russe — with layers of sponge cake, Bavarian cream, and fruit — but Holtermann’s Bakery, a 145-year-old establishment in Staten Island, initially stated that they could not fill the order due to problems with a boiler.
Goldberg claimed on the air that her political views were a more likely reason, however, saying so during Wednesday’s broadcast of “The View.”
“My birthday dessert today was one of my mom’s favorites from when she was a kid, she talked about these all the time, they’re called Charlotte Russe. It’s a sponge cake with whipped cream and a cherry on top. I should tell you, Charlotte Russe has no political leanings. The place that made these refused to make them for me,” Goldberg began. “No, let me explain. They said that their ovens had gone down, but folks went and got them anyway, which is why I’m not telling you who made them. It’s not … because I’m a woman, but perhaps they did not like my politics. But, that’s okay, because you know what, listen, this is my mother’s celebration. Pick these up and celebrate with me and my mom. Thank you everyone for celebrating my birthday today.”
Goldberg did not initially reveal the name of the bakery — but Entertainment Weekly tracked down the shop based on the packaging the treats had come in, and reached out to the bakery.
“They’d asked us and we were having trouble with our boilers,” bakery owner Jill Holtermann told the outlet, explaining that she had initially denied Goldberg’s order because her boiler was not working properly, and she did not want to accept an order that she might not be able to fill.
“I said to Whoopi, ‘I can’t do it right now,'” she explained, saying that politics had never even entered into her thoughts. “We have so many things going on with my boiler,’ because the building is from 1930, so, when she called me, I had no idea [if we could] be baking everything.”
On the day of the broadcast, a staffer from the show went in to the bakery and was able to purchase the treats because Holtermann had been able to bake them after all.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella gave a press conference in defense of Holtermann’s Bakery, calling on Goldberg — although not by name — to apologize to Jill Holtermann for defaming her on the air.
“Not everybody wakes up every day and thinks about politics,” he said. “A good business person doesn’t care about anybody’s politics.”
WATCH:
No comments