Whoopi Goldberg said she was an addict as she stepped in to end a heated debate on The View about Martin Sheen’s decision to turn his son, Charlie Sheen, in for violating probation during the actor’s well-documented struggles with addiction in the 1990s. The exchange came after the release of Charlie Sheen’s Netflix documentary, in which the actor described his father’s action as the “biggest betrayal.”
The Hot Topics segment left the table divided. Co-host Joy Behar said she agreed with the documentary’s framing and argued as a mother she would not have turned a child over to authorities, preferring treatment or hospitalization. Alyssa Farah Griffin countered that “tough love” can be necessary, citing her sister’s recovery and 12 years of sobriety.
As the conversation intensified, Goldberg announced she would “shut this down,” saying the Sheens had done everything they could to help Charlie and that their actions were driven by fear he might die on the street. “Well you should be. Because if you don’t think they did everything, when I tell you, they did everything to get him straight. This was the last straw because there was nothing left,” she said on the program.
Goldberg, who has written about her past cocaine addiction in her memoir Bits and Pieces, told co-hosts she understood an addict’s way of thinking and how promises of sobriety can be followed quickly by relapse. “We can B.S. you like nobody’s business. ‘I’m gonna get clean, I’m never gonna do this again,’ and next thing you know, you’re in it again and your parent or the person that loves you is like, ‘Oh my god what am I gonna do?’” she said.
Sunny Hostin suggested Goldberg might speak from a personal acquaintance with the Sheen family, but Goldberg rejected that as the main reason for her stance, saying her own experience with addiction informed her response. She told Behar that while some children might appreciate not being turned in, addicts often act in ways that betray trust, which can leave families feeling they have exhausted options.
The discussion referenced material from Charlie Sheen’s documentary, in which he publicly described his father’s decision as a betrayal. The View’s debate highlighted differing views among family members and public figures on how best to respond when a loved one is actively using and at risk.
Goldberg has been public about her past substance use; in her memoir she described herself as a "very high-functioning addict," an account discussed in recent interviews and reporting. The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Eastern on ABC.
The exchange underscores ongoing tensions in public conversations about addiction and family intervention, illustrating how personal experience, cultural perspectives and differing philosophies about treatment can shape opinions even among close colleagues on live television.