- Whoopi Goldberg said her funky sense of style helped her avoid criticism about aging.
- Speaking to The Times of London, Goldberg said she escaped criticism other actors have received.
Whoopi Goldberg said her unique sense of style helps her avoid any anti-ageism criticism she would've received otherwise for getting older.
In an interview with Janice Turner for The Times of London published Saturday, Goldberg, 67, opened up about how she's managed to avoid public commentary about her age. The actor, who recently produced a film about the murder of Emmett Till, is known for her eclectic, androgynous fashion sense, the outlet noted.
Recent years have seen her outfit choices regularly make headlines, from the ruffled purple Valentino gown she wore to the 2021 Met Gala to her decision to wear zebra-striped Crocs to New York Fashion Week in 2018.
In her interview with The Times of London, however, Goldberg said her sense of style has allowed her to get older without people publicly discussing her looks, unlike other actors in Hollywood.
"I didn't have the same problems a beautiful actress has," she said. "I don't have to worry about it. My stuff's going to sag and fall and I will be fine. My chest is gonna do what it does. I can age the way I age."
What's more, dressing androgynously helped Goldberg avoid sexual harassment during the start of her career in Hollywood, she said.
"No one was coming after me," Goldberg said. "They were scared of me because I was black and unknown, so no one was sure what my response might be. So they figured, thank God, 'Maybe let's not go in that direction with her.'"
Still, Goldberg wasn't always able to avoid negative experiences with regard to her looks in Hollywood.
Early on in her career, she said there were times producers would grab her hair and ask: "'What are we going to do with this shit?'"
"I would take their hand and say, 'Get your f***ing hands out of my hair.' And I realised I'd upset people," she said. "And it would upset me because I didn't really know why they were upset."
Luckily, she had a mentor to help her through those difficult moments. She said she would often turn to Sidney Poitier, a rare black Sixties movie star, early in her career.
"I could call him and cry," Goldberg said. "I'd say, 'I don't understand how to talk to these people.' And he'd say, 'You are trying to talk to them as your equal, and they don't have the same information you have.'"