One year after Whoopi Goldberg speculated on The View that an unnamed bakery refused to make her birthday celebration treats over political differences, the EGOT-winning actress rang in her 70th birthday on the air with a different bakery altogether.
At the end of Thursday’s show, which included several segments dedicated to honoring Goldberg’s birthday, the cohosts sent the episode off while seated at the Hot Topics table as it brimmed with hot dogs and baked goods in honor of Goldberg’s big day.
Goldberg announced on the air that Hoboken, N.J.-based eatery Carlo’s Bakery — prominently featured on TLC’s reality show Cake Boss — had supplied her cake this year, with no mention of the scandal that erupted following last year’s bakery development.
The cohosts’ birthdays often involve a changing roster of activities each year, ranging from Alyssa Farah Griffin’s dog-themed celebration in 2023, to Sunny Hostin celebrating 50 years of hip-hop music with a studio performance featuring Doug E. Fresh later that same year. In the past, Goldberg and the show have also welcomed a revolving door of brands, eateries, and entertainers to highlight her birthday episode.
Though Goldberg didn’t name the bakery outright on the the Nov. 13, 2024 broadcast of The View, Entertainment Weekly researched several bakeries in the New York City area that packaged desserts similar to the ones Goldberg displayed at the Hot Topics table.
After tracking the treats’ origin to Holtermann’s Bakery in Staten Island, N.Y., owner Jill Holtermann confirmed to EW that Goldberg had requested a large order of Charlotte Russe desserts for the episode, but that the bakery was “having trouble with our boilers” at the time, and “didn’t want to make a commitment that I can’t carry through” as she didn’t know when the boilers would be fixed. She said that, on Goldberg’s birthday, a woman picked up around 50 Charlotte Russe desserts from the location, and that she wasn’t aware of who the woman worked for, or what her political affiliations were.
“I said to Whoopi, ‘I can’t do it right now,'” she added. “‘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.”
Holtermann maintained that “it was not because of political” beliefs.
When reached for comment Thursday, an employee of Holtermann’s Bakery tells EW that, to her knowledge, the bakery was not contacted on behalf of Goldberg’s birthday this year.
On her 2024 birthday episode, Goldberg closed out the show by sharing Charlotte Russe treats with her cohosts.
“My birthday dessert today was one of my mom’s favorites from when she was a kid, she talked about these all the time, they’re called Charlotte Russe. It’s a sponge cake with whipped cream and a cherry on top. I should tell you, Charlotte Russe has no political leanings. The place that made these refused to make them for me,” Goldberg said, which led to panelist Sara Haines spitting out the dessert.
“No, let me explain,” Goldberg continued. “They said that their ovens had gone down, but folks went and got them anyway, which is why I’m not telling you who made them. It’s not… because I’m a woman, but perhaps they did not like my politics. But, that’s okay, because you know what, listen, this is my mother’s celebration. Pick these up and celebrate with me and my mom. Thank you, everyone for celebrating my birthday today.”
After EW’s story broke, Goldberg later addressed the incident in an Instagram video, in which she spoke about “a lot of talk about the dessert” she requested for her birthday show.
“I never mentioned the name of the bakery, or the location. It does seem a little odd that when we called a few weeks before my birthday, we were told they couldn’t process the order for my birthday because of an equipment failure,” Goldberg said in the post. “Somehow, they were able to accept an order of a different 48 of the same dessert when somebody else called without using my name. But it’s all okay, y’all, because I enjoyed my delicious dessert, and I had a happy, sweet birthday. Nothing better than that.”https://www.youtube.com/embed/qump5lrCXME
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Fallout from the 2024 birthday incident included rallies held outside of Holtermann’s Bakery, and a local radio station attempting to get Goldberg to sign a peace treaty between herself and the establishment.
A representative for The View did not provide EW with a statement on the incident at the time.
The View airs weekdays on ABC.
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