Every year, moviegoers are dazzled by the on-screen talents of Hollywood’s best and brightest, and come awards season, many of those actors and actresses get a chance to wow us all over again on the red carpet. The Academy Awards are known to feature some bold looks from its attendees, and many of those choices are remembered for years and even decades to come. That is not always a good thing, and Whoopi Goldberg knows that first-hand. The View moderator opened up about her infamous 1993 Oscars gown, admitting that the criticism affected her for years.
Whoopi Goldberg may have won an Oscar in 1990 for her performance in Ghost, but unfortunately for her, there’s no honor prestigious enough to protect anyone from the dreaded “worst-dressed” lists. The EGOT winner recalled to Page Six how much “everybody hated” the purple-and-green number that was inspired by her love for Lucille Ball, saying the critics’ words stayed with her for a long time. Goldberg said:
It hurt my feelings, I’m not going to lie. It hurt my feelings. It kept me from dressing up for a very long time. You have to remember, in those days, they would say things and you’d think, ‘Do I really look that ridiculous?’
It’s true that fashion critics have never seemed too concerned about sparing anyone’s feelings, and even with the trends being what they were in the ‘90s, Whoopi Goldberg’s purple-and-green jumpsuit and matching jacket/skirt were panned all around. The one-piece was embellished with crystals, featuring a purple design on top of a green background. Over it the Sister Act star wore a royal purple coat that cinched in the middle to serve as an open-front skirt. The coat was lined inside with bright green, and the actress accessorized with matching green and purple heels and earrings.
Whoopi Goldberg said she knew the gown was a bold move, and she credited Lucille Ball with inspiring her to step out of her comfort zone. In her words:
Lucy would always come out in these great ensembles. And I thought, I would like to wear that! And green is not a color I would normally wear; let me try it!
Like the dress or not — and most will go strongly with NOT, as this 1993 fit continues to show up on “all-time worst” lists — you have to respect Whoopi Goldberg for taking such a risk, especially knowing the number of people who would see it and the criticism she was inevitably inviting because of it. She doesn’t seem to regret the decision, either, because when asked if she still stood by her choice to wear the gown, Goldberg responded:
Absolutely.
Whoopi Goldberg certainly doesn’t seem like the type of person to change their feelings on something just because others don’t agree. That’s likely one reason she’s been a big — and sometimes controversial — part of The View for so long. You can catch the popular daytime talk show weekday mornings on ABC, and keep your eye on our 2023 Movies Calendar, as well as what’s coming to theaters in 2024.