Jill Holtermann, the owner of Holtermann’s Bakery, has disputed Whoopi Goldberg’s on-air rumors that the New York bakery declined to provide special sweets for her birthday episode of The View because of her political beliefs.
“They’d asked us and we were having trouble with our boilers,” Holtermann told Entertainment Weekly, adding that Goldberg first asked for treats for a talk show appearance on November 6 and for the November 13 episode of The View. Holtermann said she turned them down because she “didn’t want to make a commitment that I can’t carry through” due to the unpredictability of her equipment.
“I said to Whoopi, ‘I can’t do it right now. We have so many things going on with my boiler,’ because the building is from 1930, so, when she called me, I had no idea [if we could] be baking everything.”
She also mentioned that at 7:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning, an unnamed woman picked up about 50 Charlotte Russe desserts—a trifle-like treat with layers of sponge cake, Bavarian cream, and fruit—from the bakery. She was able to prepare them, but she didn’t want to take on orders in advance due to ongoing boiler problems.
She explained that she was unaware of any associations that the woman who picked up the sweets on Wednesday morning might have had, whether with The View or not.
This comes after Goldberg’s comments about her affection for the Charlotte Russe dessert during her 69th birthday segment on the show on Wednesday.
The actress told her co-hosts that the dessert was her mother’s favorite when she was growing up.
“Now, I should tell you, Charlotte Russe has no political leanings, and the place that made these refused to make them for me,” she continued, prompting a gasp from the audience.
People reports that her co-hosts also reacted strongly to the knowledge. Sunny Hostin asked, “Oh, really?” and Sara Haines instantly spat out her bite, which caused the crowd to laugh.
Goldberg continued, “They said that their ovens had gone down, all kinds of stuff, but folks went and got them anyway, which is why I’m not telling you who made them.”
She concluded, “It can’t be because I’m a woman, but perhaps they did not like my politics. But that’s okay because you know what? Listen, this is my mother’s celebration. Pick these up and celebrate with me and my mom. Thank you everyone for celebrating my birthday today.”
Goldberg is yet to react to the bakery’s owner’s remarks.
