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It was Whoopi Goldberg's 69th birthday on The View — but it wasn't all celebrations.
On the Wednesday, November 13 episode, the co-host claimed that a Staten Island bakery refused to make her the Charlotte Russe desserts because of her left-leaning political beliefs. Goldberg shared the bold allegation after explaining that the desserts, which she wanted to bring in for everyone at The View, were a tribute to her mother.
"Now, I should tell you, Charlotte Russe has no political leanings, and the place that made these refused to make them for me," Goldberg told the audience, who gasped in response. "They said that their ovens had gone down, all kinds of stuff, but folks went and got them anyway, which is why I'm not telling you who made them."
"Perhaps they did not like my politics," Goldberg continued. "But that's okay, because you know what? Listen, this is my mother's celebration. Pick these [desserts] up, and celebrate with me and my mom. Thank you everyone for celebrating my birthday today."
Charlotte Russe treats, also known as "Brooklyn ambrosia," have been dubbed one of the "lost foods of New York." Popular in the mid-1900s in New York, the Push-Pop-style cake features a movable bottom so as you eat it, you can push the cake up to reach more of its layers — which include sponge cake, jam, and whipped cream. Goldberg said these were the favorite of her mother, Emma Harris, who passed away in 2010.
However, Jill Holtermann — the owner of Holtermann's Bakery on Staten Island, where the EGOT winner requested the cakes — denied any claims of discrimination.
Holtermann told Entertainment Weekly that Goldberg had requested the desserts two weeks prior, but that she (Holtermann) had rejected the advanced order due to "having trouble with our boilers" at the time.
"I said to Whoopi, 'I can't do it right now. 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," she explained.
Though she confirmed that an unidentified woman picked up the 50 requested desserts from the bakery at 7:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the owner said she didn't want to make the commitment ahead of time without knowing how the boilers would be operating the day of pickup.
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