Whoopi Goldberg does not support Donald Trump’s proposed movie tariffs.
On Sunday, the president announced on Truth Social that he was planning to implement “a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” The Color Purple star responded to the “limiting” tariff news on a Tuesday episode of The View, where she explained why Trump’s plan wouldn’t work for the U.S. film industry.
“You can’t do that because what that equates to is you’re going to tell me how to write the story I want to write if it happens in Europe,” she explained. “You’re telling me that if my book comes out and I want to write it, you’re telling me how to write it [and] you’re telling me you’re going to charge me for that. Could you please lower the price of eggs before you start this?”
The EGOT winner argued that “if you want a change, you got to change it in the States,” instead of imposing a tariff that would limit filmmakers from shooting in foreign countries.
“The Passion of the Christ, you couldn’t have shot that in Texas. You can’t shoot Gladiator without going to Rome,” she added. “It is part of what we do, please stop … You have to make it available to people to shoot here in the States, don’t stop us from going over and shooting overseas, because then you’re limiting us.”
Her co-host, lawyer and author Sunny Hostin, agreed, noting that “the 10 highest-grossing movies in the world last year were all released by U.S. studios, and so we export that to other countries, giving us in the United States more income.
“You take Sinners, for example, which is the number one movie in the country, it’s just blasting out the box office,” she said. “It is being seen in 72 overseas markets — that helps the United States, so I don’t think he understands simple math.”
Goldberg questioned whom the tariffs would affect: “When you go over to another country to work, you work with the people who are there. We don’t import our folks to go over there, so who are you going to put this tariff on? Is it on the production? Is it on the studio? What are you talking about?”
Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump administration official, noted that “stories will be very limited if you can only shoot here,” citing varying examples of popular foreign-based television shows that the tariff would impact. “Like Emily in Paris, is it going to be Emily in Paris, Texas? Or like, White Lotus Mar-a-Lago edition?” she added.
At the end of the segment, Goldberg affirmed that “If you impose a tax like this, you are saying that we’re not good enough, and that is not the case. We are the best in the world.”
Goldberg isn’t the only Hollywood star not in favor of Trump’s new tariffs. Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel both spoke out against the movie tariffs during their respective talk shows on Monday.
“I don’t care where they’re made. I really don’t,” Kimmel said during Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! episode. “I guess it’s what the late, great Hannibal Lecter would’ve wanted. Sonic, the illegal immigrant hedgehog, is a national security threat and he must be stopped!”
