Whoopi Goldberg Reveals She Scattered Her Mother's Ashes On A 'Small World' Ride At Disneyland: 'No One Was Looking'
Whoopi Goldberg spread her mother's cremated remains at the "happiest place on Earth" — Disneyland.
Goldberg appeared on 'Late Night With Seth Meyers' on Thursday to discuss the moment which was also described in her new memoir 'Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother and Me.'
Emma Harris, 'The View's' co-host and moderator's mother, was a devoted fan of Disneyland's attraction "It's a Small World." According to Goldberg, that's where her mother's ashes were sprinkled.
"No one should do this," the 68-year-old playfully warned. "Don't do it."
She recalled how her mother "loved Small World. So, in the Small World ride, periodically, I'd scoop some of her up and I'd do this poof, and I said, 'My God, this cold is getting worse and worse!' And then we got over to the flowers where it says, 'Disneyland' and I was like, 'Oh, look at that! Poof.' "
"The day Clyde and I took her ashes to Disneyland, it's possible a lot of her went into the Small World ride, her favorite," she continued. "We were subtle about it, kind of sneezing Ma out here and there when no one was looking."
While the EGOT-winner faked a seasonal cold while spreading her mom's ashes with her brother, Clyde K. Johnson, she confessed to park officials what she had done.
"I told them I did it," she said. "I wanted to make sure, actually, that I hadn't done something that was dangerous, because it hadn't occurred to me. But there's a reason they don't want ashes just floating around."
The 'Sister Act' actress says park authorities "weren't surprised" but they "certainly were not happy about it."
Read also: Whoopi Goldberg 'Agitated' By Trump's 'Canada Doesn't Want You' Diss: 'Not Going Anywhere'
Disney parks have banned the spreading of human remains on their properties. 'SF Gate' reports how "Human cremated remains are considered a biohazard, and require an intensive level of cleanup with special equipment that will shut down rides for extended periods."
In California, spreading cremated ashes without permission on private property is a misdemeanor. The crime can result in a hefty fine and/or six months in jail, according to a 2018 post on the Southern California Defense Blog run by Tustin legal firm Wallin & Klarich.
Emma Harris died on August 29, 2010.
She was 78.
