Whoopi Goldberg Surprises Fans by Using Her Real Name

The View featured a surprising moment on Monday’s (December 16) episode when Whoopi Goldberg referred to herself by her birth name.

Goldberg and her co-hosts were discussing the idea of a new platform that would let house hunters know the political affiliations of their new neighbors. The Sister Act star argued against the concept, saying, “That is not a good idea because number one, it’s none of your business, and number two, it just fosters more division.”

Her co-host Sara Haines agreed, adding, “To pretend that our divisions are just political is the best part because jerks come in every political affiliation.”

Alyssa Farah Griffin noted that she thought it would be “boring” to live in a community where everyone shared the same thoughts and opinions. “I would sooner look at crime rates or the schools in the community,” she stated.

Sunny Hostin argued why it might be a good idea, adding, “I have a multiracial family, my goddaughter is gay, some of my best friends are trans. I wouldn’t want to live next to an extremist that would make my family feel unwelcome,” before clarifying, “But I don’t think that’s a political affiliation thing. I think it’s a behavioral thing.”

Goldberg then shared how things had changed since she was younger, when it was less common to ask other people how they were voting. It was during this speech the EGOT winner referred to herself by using her real name.

“I was raised, you never asked anybody how they were voting. I would say, ‘Ma, who are you going to vote for?’ and she’d just give me that look. And she’d say to me, ‘Caryn, that’s nobody’s business,’” Goldberg said.

If you didn’t know, Goldberg was born Caryn Elaine Johnson and adopted Whoopi Goldberg as a stage name. She opened up about the name change in her 2024 memoir, Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me, revealing that the name came from the practical joke device, a whoopee cushion.

“Once I started getting parts in plays, I wanted a name that sounded more interesting. Caryn Johnson wasn’t it,” she wrote in the book, per 10Play.com.au. “Some people at the Rep called me Whoopi because I would sometimes let loose with a fart.”

She shared a similar story with The New York Times in 2006, explaining, “Here’s the thing. When you’re performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So if you get a little gassy, you’ve got to let it go. So people used to say to me, ‘You are like a whoopee cushion.’ And that’s where the name came from.”

Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers back in July, Goldberg said she originally went by Whoopi Cushión, adding a French pronunciation to the surname. However, her mother, Emma Harris, convinced her to change “Cushión” to “Goldberg.”

“She said, ‘You are diminishing your abilities,’” Goldberg told Meyers. “‘If you call yourself by Whoopi Cushion, people are not really going to appreciate what you can do.’ And I said, ‘Oh really? Oh, great namer of the star?’ And she said, ‘Yes.’”

As for how she landed on the surname Goldberg, the Ghost actress shared, “[My mother] said, ‘Well, there’s a lot of family names, we’ve got a lot of different people in our family, I like Goldberg.’ And I said, ‘Okay well we’ll try it.’ Well?”