'The View' Hosts, Blake Lively Apologize For Fueling Kate Middleton Rumors Before Cancer Announcement
Many personalities apologized for fueling the rumors about Kate Middleton after learning that she has cancer.
On Monday's episode of "The View," Whoopi Goldberg asked her co-hosts their thoughts after Middleton announced her cancer diagnosis on Friday after months of being out in the spotlight. Alyssa Farah Griffin admitted that she wasn't proud of how she reacted previously about Middleton's absence.
"I feel awful, Whoopi was right, and I'm guilty of getting into the fun of 'Where's Kate?' and thinking it's funny and sharing the memes and playing into that," Griffin said, Page Six reported.
"And I forgot something fundamental that we all know, and that is every person -- whether it's a princess, somebody in high privilege or somebody next to you -- is dealing with personal struggles that we have no idea about. I send my love and strength to her because, sure, the palace totally mishandled the PR of this, but the public mishandled it."
Ana Navarro shared her learning experience from the incident. She recounted how Goldberg asked them to show Middleton compassion over the Mother's Day photo controversy.
"The lesson I learned was when Whoopi Goldberg tells me to mind my own damn business, I'll mind my own damn business from now on," Navarro said. "I barely ever know what's going on in pop culture, so it was very strange for me to fall down this rabbit hole, but it was everywhere."
She added that Middleton's photo scandal was "an international frenzy." She said many were concerned because the Princess of Wales was "well-loved, well respected and valued and treasured in England."
"I think we all like her because she has been like a bright spot in what has been a very dysfunctional royal family for decades and decades, and she just looks like such a great wife and a great mom. And I feel like we all know her," Navarro continued.
In a previous episode, Goldberg and her co-hosts discussed Middleton's Mother's Day photo controversy, and the former urged the others to stop talking about it because it was starting to irritate her. Instead, Goldberg commented on Donald Trump's outings and claimed that Trump used AI in some of his appearances.
Sara Haines said Middleton's cancer diagnosis was "heart-wrenching." However, she admitted that she was skeptical about how the Palace handled the matter.
"You just never know what someone is going through. I've always questioned the way the royal family handles women, whether it was Princess Diana or Fergie (Sarah Ferguson) or Meghan Markle," Haines said.
"I was not blaming Kate for what was going on, it really bothered me the way it was handled -- whether it was my business or not could be debated. But I do hope now for a speedy recovery."
Blake Lively also made fun of Middleton's photo controversy. The "Gossip Girl" also expressed regret in how she reacted to the issue.
"I'm sure no one cares today, but I feel like I have to acknowledge this," Lively wrote on her Instagram Stories on Friday without naming Middleton, ABC News reported. "I made a silly post around the 'Photoshop fails' frenzy, and oh man, that post has me mortified today. I'm sorry. Sending love and well wishes to all, always.[red heart emojis]."
In a since-deleted post, Lively promoted the new four flavors of her Betty Buzz and Betty Booze drinks, which will launch in May. She accompanied it with a snap of her holding a drink in an obviously edited photo with an exaggerated giant thumb and a lemon falling from the sky.
"I'm so excited to share this new photo I just took today to announce our 4 new @bettybuzz & @bettybooze products! Now you know why I've been MIA," she wrote in the caption.