Whoopi Goldberg and the women of The View are weighing in on Bill Gates’ connection to the late Jeffrey Epstein.
“What’s been so striking to me going through all of those emails is the incredible hold that Jeffrey Epstein had over them,” guest cohost Sara Eisen shared on the Thursday, February 26, episode of ABC’s daytime talk show when discussing Gates, 70, and other people within the Epstein files. “These should not vulnerable people. They relied on him.”
The Squawk on the Street coanchor continued, “He treated them like normal people. He often bossed them around. He was rude to them in emails. They got here to him for tax advice. They got here to him for relationship advice.”
When cohost Sunny Hostin found it “odd” that a billionaire like Gates can be counting on Epstein “who didn’t also have a college degree or a level in accounting,” Goldberg, 70, stepped in.
“I’m sorry. I’m not surprised by it, because we see this on a regular basis,” Goldberg claimed throughout the show’s Hot Topics segment. “People who find themselves very, very powerful will search for the one who is more powerful than them. It just happens, and that’s why you usually hear concerning the guys that you simply never see but they got the cash, and that they’re caring for a variety of folks.”
Earlier this week, Gates spoke out in a Gates Foundation company town hall and addressed his name’s appearance within the Epstein files.
“It was an enormous mistake to spend time with Epstein,” the businessman said, per a recording obtained by The Wall Street Journal. “I apologize to other people who find themselves drawn into this due to the mistake that I made.”
Gates added that he never did or saw anything “illicit” while spending time with Epstein.
“To be clear,” he claimed, “I never spent any time with victims, the ladies around him.”
Gates’ message got here after america Justice Department released one other batch of Epstein files. One unsent email alleged that Gates had sexual relations with two “Russian girls” and got a sexually transmitted infection. (Gates has not publicly commented on the STI claim but confirmed he had two affairs.)
“Knowing what I do know now makes it, , 100 times worse when it comes to not only his crimes previously, but now it’s clear there was ongoing bad behavior,” Gates said on Tuesday.
After Goldberg shared her view, Hostin, 57, still desired to know, “Why did they offer him that much money?”
“Because he had them by the,” Goldberg — who previously explained why she’s within the Epstein files — said before her mic seemingly cut off. “Listen, once you give your power over to any person, once you give people power over your being, they’ll use it nonetheless they wish to, persuade you to do anything because they are saying, ‘You recognize I got this information on you.’ And also you don’t wish to take a probability that they do have it. So that you pay them. It’s a graft. It’s what grifters do.”
Hostin added, “We’re not implying that that happened,” while reminding viewers that the Gates Foundation “has denied giving any money to Jeffrey Epstein.”
The View airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings online.