Speaking on The View, actress and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg criticized Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, warning him that he "better hope they don't come for you" after he jeopardized the legal right to interracial marriage with the Court's decision last week to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that once protected a person's right to choose reproductive healthcare without excessive government restriction.
Goldberg warned that the Court had embarked down a slippery slope – and that Thomas' own marriage would eventually be at risk, whether he likes it or not.
You can hear her remarks in the video below.
\u201cWhoopi Goldberg: "You better hope that they don\u2019t come for you, Clarence, and say 'you should not be married to your wife who happens to be white'"\u201d— The Post Millennial (@The Post Millennial) 1656346523
The decision on Roe, which hinged on a right to privacy that while not explicitly granted in the United States Constitution was nonetheless accepted per the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (which grants all citizens “equal protection of the laws"), suggested other Supreme Court rulings, such as those regarding contraception, same-sex and interracial marriage, are now in doubt.
Thomas suggested in a solo concurring opinion that established gay rights (Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges) and contraception rights (Griswold v. Connecticut) should be reconsidered now that the federal right to reproductive freedom has been revoked, calling them "demonstrably erroneous" and calling on the Court to "correct the error."
But nowhere in his concurring opinion did Thomas mention Loving v. Virginia, a landmark civil rights decision in which the Court ruled that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Fourteenth Amendment. Thomas, who is Black, is married to Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, a hardline conservative activist who happens to be White.
Goldberg said:
“What’s next? Clarence Thomas is signaling they would like to get rid of contraception. Do you understand, sir? No, because you don’t have to use it."
“We were not in the Constitution either. We were not even people."
"You better hope that they don’t come for you, Clarence, and say ‘You should not be married to your wife,’ who happens to be white. Because they will move back.”
“And you better hope that nobody says, ‘You know, well, you’re not in the Constitution. You’re back to being a quarter of a person.’ Because that’s not going to work either.”
Many echoed Goldberg's criticisms.
\u201cIt's past time for "coming for Clarence Thomas "\u201d— SAM...VOTE BLUE 22 (@SAM...VOTE BLUE 22) 1656430627
\u201cWhoopi just said out loud what many black folks are thinking. While Clarence Thomas is looking to undo decisions like Roe v Wade, contraception, LGBTQIA rights... interracial marriage & black citizenship can be put up 4 debate w/ this action by SCOTUS to undo precedent #TheView\u201d— Protect Black Womxn and Girls (@Protect Black Womxn and Girls) 1656343579
\u201cHe will of course vote against this ruling, as he did on the one for Trump's messages, because it will personally affect him.\u201d— Nancy Meadows (@Nancy Meadows) 1656416468
\u201cIn retrospect, maybe it wasn't the best idea to let a man who sexually harasses women on the Supreme Court of the United States. Of course, he's no Brett Kavanaugh.\u201d— Dr. Lori Lee Oates (she/her) (@Dr. Lori Lee Oates (she/her)) 1656369665
\u201cHe's skating on thin Ice. Maybe it is time to investigate his and his wife's connection with Trump's/GOP failed insurrection?\u201d— Sylvia (@Sylvia) 1656411739
\u201cYup. As a mixed kid \u2014 I grew up learning about Loving vs. Virginia. BTW \u2014 the last state to overturn the ban on interracial marriage was Alabama, in 2000. 40% of the state voted to keep the ban\u201d— Tulika Bose (@Tulika Bose) 1656365864
\u201cClarence Thomas has allied himself with the white power elites, which means he won't become a quarter of a person. Money and power are the great separators\u201d— KnowYourObama (@KnowYourObama) 1656416715
\u201cInterruption of pregnancy is a women\u2019s right! What should we do? Eliminate the filibuster, Codify Roe, Increase the members of The Supreme Court! Eliminate the life time of the members of the Supreme Court! Let's do it now! Vote! Vote!\u201d— Alfonso Pino (@Alfonso Pino) 1656388368
\u201cShe\u2019s right! Ask the @LogCabinGOP if their fealty to the @gop cause is sparing them it\u2019s wrath.\n\n"You better hope that they don\u2019t come for you, Clarence, and say \u2018you should not be married to your wife,\u2019 who happens to be white," Whoopi Goldberg said. https://t.co/yvHBmUiN9P\u201d— Ron Klopfanstein (@Ron Klopfanstein) 1656429422
Goldberg is not the only prominent Black celebrity to criticize Thomas for similar reasons.
Over the weekend, actor Samuel L. Jackson criticized Thomas, referring to him as "Uncle Clarence," a reference to the excessively servile Black character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Thomas' critics have labeled him an "Uncle Tom" – another reference to Stowe's literary creation – and, more recently, "Uncle Ruckus," a reference to a fictional character on the animated sitcom The Boondocks who is internally racist, repeatedly proclaiming his love for the White race and disdain of the Black race to the point that he even identifies as Caucasian, saying he suffers from "reverse vitiligo."
Thomas and his wife have courted signficant controversy in recent months in light of the news that Ginni Thomas actively worked with members of former President Donald Trump's administration to overturn the results of the 2020 general election, which Democrat Joe Biden won decisively.