Whoopi Goldberg told her co-hosts Thursday on ABC’s “The View” that professional basketball player LeBron James should promote the COVID vaccination or it will “come back and bite you in the behind when you want to talk about issues.”
In a video, James said, “Everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family and things of that nature. I know that I was very skeptical about it all, but after doing my research and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited for not only for me but for my family and for my friends. But as far as speaking for everybody and their individuality and things they want to do, I don’t feel that is my job.”
Goldberg said, “Well, it’s kind of funny because if it’s not your job, that means that some of those folks that would be coming to see you play aren’t going to come see you play because they’re not going to get in. It’s not your job to tell people what to do, but you can suggest that you figured out that nobody grew a second head or a tail when they got the shot.”
Co-host Ana Navarro said, “Look, when you have a public platform, when you’re a public person, really it’s a privilege, but it’s also a responsibility, and privacy doesn’t come along with all of the privilege that comes with being a public person. You’re earning a ton of money. You’ve got fans. People follow you.”
She added, “People pay to see you and tune in to see you. You have a responsibility to those people who made you to share what you know and to try to get them to do the right thing. I’m sorry, I wish we had private lives, we don’t. We are public people with a lot of privileges, and that’s the responsibility that comes along with it.”
Goldberg said, “If you don’t want to speak out, remember you said that because it’s going to come back and bite you in the behind when you wanna talk about issues that are bothering you. Just know that people are going to come back and say, ‘Well, why are you talking now?’ This is really important, LeBron, whether you decide to talk about why you and your family got vaccinated. It’s important for you as an American citizen, for me as an American citizen, for all of us to do our part here?”
She added, “You got to help us out here, do what you can, and as you have in the past because this is as important as anything else we’re going to be talking about in the ten years.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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