Whoopi Goldberg Erupts During Debate Over Salon Owner Who Told Trans Community To Use ‘A Local Pet Groomer’

Whoopi Goldberg went off during a discussion on The View about discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

She began her commentary, on Wednesday, with the recent Supreme Court ruling that said a Colorado web designer had the right to refuse to work with same-sex customers.

“They cited her First Amendment rights,” Goldberg said of the SCOTUS ruling. “Now, a salon owner in Michigan argues that this gives her the right to refuse to serve transgender clients…You know, if you decide you don’t want to do somebody’s hair, you have every right to say no. When you — because maybe you don’t know how, and you don’t want everybody to know that you don’t have your — you can say no. What you can’t do is what you did, lady. Is you can’t make fun and say rude stuff about people. That’s when it becomes a problem.”

The owner of Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City, MI, announced on Facebook “that she would not be providing services to transgender or queer people,” HuffPost reported. Christine Geiger also told local news station that she “is OK with lesbian, gay and bisexual people but refuses to use preferred pronouns and has a right to deny service.”

Screen shots of the Studio 8 Facebook post said:

If a human identifies as anything other than a man/woman, please seek services at a local pet groomer. You are not welcome at this salon. Period…This is America; free speech. This small business has the right to refuse services. We are not bound to any oaths as realtors are regarding discrimination.

The post drew the attention of Michigan State Rep. Betsy Coffia, who posted a letter condemning Geiger’s “breathtaking hate” toward the LGBTQ+ community.

Goldberg continued, “Listen, if you can do this — if this woman can say this because she believes this is her right, what is to keep her from saying, ‘I’m not going to serve you, you look Jewish. I’m not going to serve you, you might be Black.'”

Watch the clip above via ABC.