Ted Danson is revisiting one of the most controversial moments of his decades-long career. In 1993, the actor appeared in blackface at the roast of Whoopi Goldberg, with whom he was in a relationship at the time. The backlash was immediate, and now, Danson is shedding light on the thought process behind the roast, saying that he will forever be apologetic for his past actions.
On June 3, Ted Danson appeared on the “Who’s With Me?” podcast to discuss his lengthy career with host W. Kamau Bell. At some point in the conversation, the two talked about the “Cheers” actor wearing blackface in the early ’90s, which led to extreme public backlash. Bell disclosed that before starting the podcast, he asked Danson whether there were topics he didn’t want to get into, to which he answered no.
In October 1993, Whoopi Goldberg was roasted at the members-only New York Friars Club, and one of the roasters was Danson, with whom she was having an affair. Danson appeared in blackface makeup with exaggerated lips, used the n-word, and made explicit jokes about their sex life during his set.
“I have no problem talking about this, but I need to and want to apologize for the rest of my life because somebody today can go on the internet and go, ‘What the f-ck? Wow, I feel betrayed, I feel angry.’ And I did that,” Danson told Bell.
The Actor Attempted To Get Out Of The Roast
Danson also apologized to Goldberg, as he didn’t want her to get caught up in the issue again. He then explained the circumstances leading up to the roast. At that time, Danson was married to producer Casey Coates when he began an affair with Goldberg, which was made public by tabloids and paparazzi while they were filming the movie “Made in America.”
Danson recalled that he had already signed on for the roast when he and Goldberg realized their relationship was nearing its end. He tried to get out of the event, but organizers allegedly threatened legal action because tickets had already been sold.
The actor then shared his thought process, but not before saying that it wasn’t an excuse. Danson had no clue what to do, considering he was not a comedian and he was tasked to roast one of the funniest women in the world.
“And then I thought, ‘Well I can do performance theater.’ I looked at all these tapes and it’s like, well if I were Black, I could say all these outrageous things. I’m not; then my mind went, I will do it in blackface and that will be funny or not, but it will be like, ‘I have license now,’” Danson said.
Ted Danson Said He Was ‘Stupid And Entitled’
The actor explained that the circus surrounding their affair as a mixed-race couple made him angry, “It couldn’t be because they liked each other or saw something in each other… It had to be just pure sex, that’s the only reason for a relationship like this,” Danson said.
As he worked on his material, he thought about what Goldberg had said about using the n-word. “They don’t have to use nasty language. They can take you off. They can be racist in their actions and be the sweetest thing,” Danson explained, adding that he “latched on” to that idea.
“There’s no one been whiter than me in the world. That I thought that this white guy could have something valuable to say about race and race relations was so stupid and entitled,” the actor reflected.
Danson ran his material by Goldberg, but at the roast, he quickly realized his set wasn’t going according to plan. “Within 20 seconds, I was like, ‘I stuck my finger in a light socket,” he said.
The Actor Said His Intentions Didn’t Matter
The backlash was swift. TV personality Montel Williams, who was a celebrity guest at the roast, walked out of the venue enraged and later resigned his membership from the club. New York City Mayor David Dinkins was also in attendance, and while he finished the performance, he later said the jokes were “way, way over the line.”
“Fifty percent of the crowd didn’t get it and f-cking hated it and hated me. And I kept going,” Danson said. “I thought I was doing a satire on race relationships, inner, you know, mixed couple relationship, and I thought I was being edgy,” he explained.
Danson said that while his intention for the roast was “love,” he later understood that “intentions do not matter. “The impact you have on people is what matters,” he added.
Whoopi Goldberg Defended Ted Danson
Immediately following the set, Goldberg addressed Danson’s blackface, telling the audience, “I don’t care if you didn’t like it. I did.”
Later, Goldberg shared that she was the one who wrote Danson’s material and even hired the artist who did his makeup. “Ted is a funny man, but he is a white man. He didn’t know how to do this. I did. It was my concept.”
Goldberg also spoke about it publicly, saying, “If they knew me, they would know that Whoopi has never been about political correctness. I built my whole career destigmatizing words like ‘n—–r’,” she said. In another statement, the comedian stated, “Friars Club roasts are meant to be ‘vulgar’ and ‘outrageous,’ so why anyone would take offense to Ted’s roasting me in the tradition of the Friars Club is beyond me.”
