“People who are very, very powerful will look for the person who’s more powerful than them.”

The View censors Whoopi Goldberg during on-air discussion about Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein

"People who are very, very powerful will look for the person who's more powerful than them."

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February 26, 2026 12:27 p.m. ET

Whoopi Goldberg was censored on 'The View' while discussing Bill Gates and the Epstein files. Credit:

*The View* has continued its long tradition of cutting its cohosts' audio live on the air.

Whoopi Goldberg seemed to be censored on Thursday's episode of the talk show when she appeared to use a vulgar word to refer to the male anatomy as the panel discussed Bill Gates and the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The moment came as the Hot Topics table reacted to developments amid the slow release of the Epstein files, including billionaire Gates' alleged connections to the convicted sex offender (who died in prison in 2019) after the former's name appeared throughout case documents recently released by the Justice Department.**

"Bill Gates apologized to his staff and admitted he had affairs with Russian women and didn't do anything illicit," the show's guest cohost, CNBC news anchor Sara Eisen, said during the segment, with Joy Behar adding, "It's not good, but they're not children."

Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Sara Eisen on 'The View'.

Eisen later pointed out the alleged "incredible hold that Jeffrey Epstein had over" tech titans and billionaires mentioned in the files. "These are not vulnerable people. They relied on him," she said, noting that "there are a lot of questions there."

Goldberg then cut in to say she's "not surprised" by Gates' alleged connection to Epstein.

"We see this all the time. People who are very, very powerful will look for the person who's more powerful than them. It just happens," the EGOT-winning actress said. "That's why you always hear about the guys that you never see but they've got the money and they're taking care of a lot of folks."

"The question still remains: Why did they give him that much money?" former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin asked later in the discussion, with Goldberg replying, "Because he had him by the — " just before her audio cut out for a few moments.

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Hostin then reminded her cohosts that the Gates Foundation "has denied giving any money to Jeffrey Epstein," but Goldberg didn't relent.

"Listen, when you give your power over to somebody, when you give people power over your being, they can use it however they want to, convince you to do anything," she said. "You don't want to take the chance that they do have it. So you pay them."

Hostin again told Goldberg, "We're not implying that that happened."

Bill Gates talks at the Gates Foundation's first global Goalkeepers event in Stockholm on Jan. 22, 2026.

Stefan JERREVANG/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty

According to the *The Wall Street Journal*, Gates said in a Feb. 24 Gates Foundation town hall, "I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit."

A spokesperson for Gates later told **'s sister publication, PEOPLE, "This was a scheduled town hall with employees, which Bill does twice a year. In the conversation, Bill answered questions submitted by foundation staff on a range of issues, including the release of the Epstein files, the foundation's work in AI, and the future of global health. In the town hall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions."

EW has reached out to representatives for Gates at the Gates Foundation for comment.

*The View* airs weekdays on ABC.

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Source: “EW Talk”