Hollywood star Whoopi Goldberg addresses the University Philosophical Society. Photo: The Irish Times
Gareth Gregan
News Writer
A packed GMB was treated to an audience with award-winning actress, comedian and singer Whoopi Goldberg today, the third day of TCD Fresher’s Week. Ms Goldberg was a guest of the University Philosophical Society, where her life’s work and devotion to the entertainment industry was being recognized by awarding her Honorary Patronage of the society as part of a bumper Wednesday which also included the arrival of a second famous actor, Hugh Laurie.
Queues had been building from late morning to see Goldberg, a two-time Oscar nominee, most noted for her roles in films such as Sister Act and Ghosts, and by two o’clock it had grown to a length twice the capacity of the GMB. The audience rose to its feet in applause to welcome Goldberg as she took her seat alongside current president Lorcan Clarke.
Accompanied by her daughter, she spoke and answered questions on a myriad of topics, ranging from her own harsh upbringing in the “[New York housing] projects” to recent involvement in campaigns to improve awareness of the plights of sufferers of Cystic Fibrosis, an issue highlighted by audience member and well-known campaigner Orla Tinsley. Such advocacy recently inspired her to give up smoking having witnessed a video of the suffering of a young CF patient who “just wanted to breathe normally” which was when she remarked “I can breathe, I can breathe great, but I’m f**king it up”.
Goldberg touched on the subject of race several times throughout her oration, most poignantly when she spoke of the significance behind landing her iconic role as “Guinan” in the Star Trek series. The significance, she said, was born out of the view that Sci-Fi films are futuristic and she, in gaining her role, was the first character “of colour” to appear in such a film and hence create a place for people of colour in the future. This future she remarked “is all of us”. Yet, when asked if she’d view herself as an Ambassador of African-Americans she declined, saying she’s “simply just Whoopi”.
It was clear that the importance of awards like that which she was not receiving was not lost on the star when she spoke of how for somebody “without a college or high school diploma” receiving awards from educational institutions is a “great honour” and a “big deal”. Indeed, the actress had gone to great lengths to dress well for the occasion in order to show how much she valued it, having spent the morning shopping in Dublin.
However, it was during this shopping trip that Goldberg encountered what she referred to as “the less enjoyable side of fame” after she was harassed and pursued by a man having declined a photo with him. Indeed she was forced to “call the cops” on the man whom she referred to as a “bonehead”.
The performer proved that no domain of public-life is outside her jurisdiction when she spoke of politics and in particular the pending US election. She professed herself “an Obama fan” but stopped short of criticizing his opponent, Mitt Romney, when she described him as a “nice man on a one to one basis”.
Goldberg finished by singing the event to a close. The talented performer improvised a song about Dublin, much to the audience’s delight ending it with the line “that’s all your getting from me today” in her soulful blues voice.
Having sat in the presence of one of the entertainment world’s greats for just under an hour there are several things that strike me about her. They are the clarity in her conviction, her amazing self-belief and refusal to compromise who she is for the sake of others.
