Whoopi Goldberg Stuns Co-Hosts With Unexpected Stance: ‘I Know I’m Gonna Catch a Lot of Hell, but I Don’t Care’

Whoopi Goldberg came out with a fiery defense of ESPN commentary Stephen A. Smith on “The View” Monday, saying no woman should be “surprised” if they make the decision to hit a man and the man hits back.

Goldberg was outnumbered by the all-female panel as she repeatedly argued, “If you hit somebody, you cannot be sure you are not going to get hit back!”

"I'm know I'm going to catch a lot of hell, but I don't care," she said.

The View

Smith apologized on Monday for comments he made last week about domestic violence during his reaction to NFL running back Ray Rice’s two-game suspension for allegedly knocking out his wife. He cautioned women against doing “anything to provoke wrong actions,” though he also made it clear that it’s never OK for a man to hit a woman.

Whoopi explained that Rice's wife reportedly admitted to hitting him before the incident, which is where she said she believes Smith's remarks came from.

Smith was accused of blaming domestic violence on women — and so was Whoopi on Monday. Guest host Sunny Hostin accused Whoopi of playing “blame the victim.”

“Oh, my god, that is not blame the victim! I just said, don’t anybody hit anybody,” she said. “But If you make the choice as a woman, who’s four foot three, and you decide to hit a guy who’s six feet tall and you’re the last thing he wants to deal with that day and he hits you back, you cannot be surprised!”

To be fair, Whoopi, like Smith, never argued that it is ever acceptable for a man to hit a woman.

Watch the video via The Wrap:

(H/T: Mediaite)