(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg once again passed gas on live TV this week, causing health experts to speculate that the Oscar-winning actress may be afflicted by multiple problems.
Goldberg (née Caryn Johnson) has a long history of farting on air and even reportedly derived her stage name from the whoopee cushion when she first began performing as a stand-up comedian.
“When you’re performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door,” she told the New York Times in 2014. “So if you get a little gassy, you’ve got to let it go.”
On Wednesday, while discussing the testimony of former porn star Stormy Daniels in New York’s ongoing probe of former President Donald Trump, Goldberg was interrupted mid-sentence by another flatulent eruption.
“That was gas,” she said, causing her co-hosts and audience to laugh uncomfortably.
After the latest incident, Dr. Ahmed Albusoda, a gastroenterologist at the Princess Grace Hospital in London, noted that Goldberg is suffering from sciatica, a painful nerve condition of the lower back that she was diagnosed with in 2021, the Daily Mail reported.
“In general, people with sciatica are less active, which is a risk factor for constipation because there is more fermenting in the stools,” Albusoda said.
He added that people in such a condition often “take painkillers,” which can “cause constipation because they cause more fermentation and gas in the stools.”
Goldberg even took a week off of the show last summer on account of her sciatica pain.
Albusoda further suggested that Goldberg’s infamously unhealthy diet may be contributing to her inability to control her bowels.
“Of course, we need to talk to a patient specifically,” he said, “[but] if she is eating a lot of junk food, or anything that has a lot of fat in it like processed foods, that can also slow down your bowel movements and cause constipation.”
“Junk food is not healthy for the bowel and may also change the population of gut bacteria,” he added.
Dr. Jessica Cording, a nutritionist in New York City, also suggested that Whoopi’s diet could be causing her problems.
“If somebody is experiencing excess amounts of gas, something that might be contributing to that is certain foods,” she said.
“What I would tell someone if they experience it to the point where it seems excessive or uncontrollable, I would encourage them to check in with a gastroenterologist, just in case it is anything underlying.”
