Whoopi Goldberg casts doubt on dramatic Harry-Meghan chase claim
'The View' host Whoopi Goldberg discusses her own experiences with paparazzi and why she doubts the dramatic account of the car chase involving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
"The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg was somewhat skeptical Thursday of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's account of the "near-catastrophic car chase" they were in after attending a New York City event this week, saying it "just doesn't work in New York."
Calling it some "wacky stuff," Goldberg recounted how the spokesperson for Harry and Meghan used the loaded language to describe how their taxi was pursued by paparazzi. Following an event where the Duchess of Sussex received the 2023 Woman of Vision Award from Gloria Steinem, Markle, her husband and her mother, Doria Ragland, were pursued by swarms of photographers for "over two hours," which resulted in "multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road," according to a spokesperson for the royal couple.
"Others said it wasn’t bad, but I think people in New York know if it was possible to have car chases in New York, we’d all make it to the theater on time," Goldberg joked. "I think their spokesperson referenced something that you’d generally reference in Los Angeles. That's where you have chases, that's where you can move at high speeds. I think they were dealing with aggressive paparazzi, but I don’t think it was where, you know, you watch it on TV like this, watching the cars go, because it just doesn't work in New York."
Co-host Joy Behar added that when she sees an ambulance trying to get through a clogged-up part of Manhattan, she thinks "that person is dead," since they won't be able to get past that street.
"The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg doubts the dramatic account of the car chase involving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. (The View / Screenshot)
Goldberg wasn't the only prominent New Yorker to have her doubts. Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said he would find it "hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase."
Even the taxi driver for the pair said that the paparazzi were keeping their distance as they took photos of the famous pair, along with Markle's mother, to "make a quick buck."
The show's panelists said the wording of the spokesperson's comments may have what led to criticism, as the expression "car chase" called to mind the sort of dangerous, high-speed freeway car chases in movies and television.
"You can't do it here," Goldberg said of having a "chase" in New York.
There was also the inescapable comparison to the tragic fate of Prince Harry's mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997. Her car was being pursued by paparazzi at the time, although her driver Henri Paul was found to have been intoxicated by drugs and alcohol when he crashed into a pillar in a tunnel. Paul and Diana's boyfriend Dodi Fayed died at the scene; Diana was critically injured and died at a nearby hospital.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's "catastrophic" claims eclipsed a celeb-filled charity event. (Getty Images)
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"The terms they chose were misleading," co-host Sara Haines said. "So in addition to ‘chase,’ what they meant by ‘catastrophic’ is not to them possibly, it was to two of the paparazzi. I think when you word it that way, it does feed trolls… I think it was misrepresented in the language they released, but I do also think that everyone can agree there’s got to be better regulation on paparazzi."
Goldberg, a famous actress in her own right, has dealt with being chased by photographers herself.
"I don’t think anybody realizes that the verbiage that they were using was going to cause the kind of thing that it did," Goldberg said. "Your spokesperson, when you use that kind of verbiage, know that your credibility is going to get cut in half, because the first thing New Yorkers will say, ‘nobody moves that fast in New York City.’ So just keep that in mind."
Prince Harry's mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997. (Tim Graham Photo Library)
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin called it a "PR failure" in part, saying the language reignited the public trauma that the world still has about Diana's death.
The latest headlines involving the famous and controversial couple have raised discussion about how traumatic the "chase" actually was. While initially in a protected SUV after leaving the event, they then sought refuge at a police station and then got into a taxi.
The NYPD told Fox News Digital that the photographers "made their transport challenging" but they arrived at their destination safely.
The famous couple's exploits have dominated headlines over the past few years as they stepped away from being working royals in 2020 and made critical remarks about the royal family.
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Fox News' Tracy Wright, Lauryn Overhultz, Brie Stimson and Larry Fink contributed to this report.