Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of "The View", recently expressed skepticism towards the reported 'near catastrophic' car chase involving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in New York City on May 16. Goldberg suggested that the couple's recount of events might have been blown out of proportion.
During the May 18 episode of the popular talk show, Goldberg and her fellow hosts dissected the incident, which had been characterized as harrowing by a spokesperson for the royal couple. Whoopi questioned the intensity of the supposed car chase, given the nature of New York City traffic.
"Their spokesperson called it a 'near catastrophic car chase,'" Goldberg recounted on the show. "But we New Yorkers know well, if car chases were feasible here, we’d all make it to Broadway shows without delay."
She went on to contextualize her doubt, explaining, "Their spokesperson seems to be referencing something more akin to Los Angeles, where high-speed chases are possible. While I accept they may have faced pushy paparazzi, I don't believe it was a scenario of high-speed chase we're used to seeing on TV. Simply put, that's not feasible in New York," Goldberg observed, alluding to Manhattan's famously congested streets.
Joy Behar, co-panelist on "The View", concurred with Goldberg's sentiment. She quipped, "Sometimes I’m in the city and I hear an ambulance struggling to get through the traffic. I can't help but think, 'That person is probably gone.'"
However, Sunny Hostin, another co-host, came to the defense of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. She highlighted the historical context of Prince Harry's experience, referencing the tragic car crash that took the life of his mother, Princess Diana, in a pursuit with paparazzi in 1997.
Hostin clarified, "No one ever claimed that there was a high-speed chase. I believe when most people hear 'chase', they envisage high-speed pursuits."
Hostin continued, "If Harry and Meghan felt scared, I can empathize with that. Given the tragic history with Harry's mother's fatal car chase, they are particularly sensitive to being pursued. I wouldn’t want to feel threatened by aggressive e-bikes and Sedans tailing me around the city either," she concluded.