When the ladies of The View convened Wednesday, they began by addressing the controversial and offensive comments Kelly Osbourne made while trying to make a point about Donald Trump on Tuesday.
"I want to just start by making something clear: The point she was actually trying to make was that Donald Trump's stance on immigration will only end up hurting the people that Donald Trump is counting on. I think that's what she was trying to say," Whoopi Goldberg said. "One of the things that happens on live television is you're trying to get your point in and you sometimes step in dog doo. It does not make you a racist...Sometimes your head works faster than your mouth. It happens."
Goldberg added, "If you've ever met a racist, it's pretty clear."
Osbourne offered an aggressive apology via Facebook Tuesday afternoon.
Raven-Symoné also defended Osbourne amid widespread backlash, telling her fellow co-hosts, "I'm best friends with Kelly. We're growing a friendship closer and closer every day. I know her mother [Sharon Osbourne] and I don't think she'd be a racist if she was friends with me. Do you know what I'm saying?"
Goldberg joked, "I'm darker than you!"
Nicolle Wallace, who was not on the panel Tuesday, offered a different perspective. "What struck me was that you guys know her heart, and it was so instant that you were able to forgive her. It made me wonder if we gave that kind of benefit of the doubt to people that we are ideologically opposed to, what a game changer that would be," she said. "I mean, if Ted Cruz said that, or Mike Huckabee said that, I can picture all of you looking in the camera saying, 'I'm going to do something in my toilet to you.'"
Wallace said that idea extends to CEOs, actors and many more people. "I mean, Rosie Perez got a lot of backlash from the Latino community for defending Kelly," she explained, "and I have to say to anyone that questions Rosie Perez's commitment to the Latin community, she brought the first Latina treasurer of the United States to this table. She celebrates and advances Latinas every day at this table. So, no one should question [her] commitment to the community because she forgave Kelly Osbourne."
Perez did not appear on Wednesday's show. Instead, Good Morning America's Sara Haines filled in as a guest co-host. "Race is one of the only conversations we have that is just so emotionally charged...for good reason. It has a history," she told the co-hosts. "But I think it makes it a little difficult sometimes."
Wallace asked each of the women to "take Trump and Kelly both out of it" and imagine "a politician that you might disagree with." She noted, "I've been here for 10 months, and every time someone says something, every time they step in doodie and it's in our rundown, we all take turns beating the piñata."
Goldberg argued, "When people make real racist statements, we will kick your ass."
"No matter what you do!" Wallace added. "Whether you're a teacher or a cop."
"But when you step in doo-doo, we get it," Goldberg said. "We live in the doo-doo."
Raven-Symoné encouraged the roundtable not to "forget what people say at home under the cover of their own roofs." The former child star went on to say, "We are sitting on a public table getting bombarded every day, and Kelly knows this. That's my girl. She feels awful right now. She is not a racist."
"If you've ever met a real racist, it's a whole other world, honey," Goldberg added.
Wallace wasn't sure that her argument was resonating with the group. "I think it's beautiful what you guys did for Kelly. I just wish it would extend to people that you don't know their heart," she said, before Goldberg argued that she does give people the benefit of the doubt. Undeterred, Wallace said, "You knew her heart. You instantly defended her around this table. It would be nice to assume other people have a good heart, too, before we jump them."
Osbourne knew she screwed up immediately, Michelle Collins noted: "The second it came out of her mouth, you could tell, she was like, 'What did I just say?'"