
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, October 11, 1993                   TAG: 9310110055
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.                                LENGTH: Short

GOLDBERG BLASTS CRITIC OF DANSON'S BLACK JOKES

Whoopi Goldberg defended boyfriend Ted Danson's blackface appearance at a Friar's Club roast, saying Sunday that critic Montel Williams was a wimp and possibly a publicity hound.

Goldberg said she was surprised and shocked by the controversy over Friday's closed-door tribute to her in New York City.

"We knocked Somalia off the cover of the New York newspapers," the actress said. "This is insane to me."

She said anyone familiar with the Friar's Club 89-year history of ribald roasts should have expected jokes about sex, gender, bodily functions, religion and race.

Danson wore blackface makeup and huge white lips. The "Cheers" television star used the word "nigger" several times and joked about his sex life with Goldberg.

Goldberg suggested that talk show host Williams, who lashed out at Danson's antics, should have taken the event for what it was: an opportunity by friends to show their love with tasteless, vulgar humor. - Associated Press

by CNB