Well, Saints: Whoopi Goldberg asks why evangelical leaders are silent on pedophilia and sex trafficking
Article By Bethany Harris // Faith & Culture // EEW Magazine
Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier, has been charged with abusing dozens of underage girls, and it’s something evangelicals should be speaking out about, according to Whoopi Goldberg.
The co-host of ABC’s daytime talker, “The View,” blasted high-profile Christian leaders like Franklin Graham—who are known to come out strong against abortion and homosexuality—for remaining silent on pedophilia and sex trafficking.
“Why isn’t the evangelical community coming forward? Where is everybody?” Goldberg wondered aloud during a Wednesday, July 10th airing of the top-rated political show. “That was worrying me, because I thought, well, one of the ways that you show that you care about people is you come out and you condemn this kind of stuff. All the folks that I’m used to hearing talk about this one is bad, or this is bad, haven’t said much, and I just was wondering where they were.”
According to Pew Research Center, around 35 percent of American adults—half of all Christians—consider themselves evangelical or born-again. White evangelical protestants are among the staunchest conservative and Republican voters in the electorate, who are unapologetically, and loudly countercultural.
Jeffrey Epstein, 66, was charged with operating a sex trafficking ring in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005. (Rick Friedman/Getty Images)
That’s why 63-year-old Goldberg said she is confused by the hush that has seemingly fallen over the evangelical community about Epstein, a 66-year-old Wall Street master of high finance with friends in very high places, who has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges— an indictment that could land him behind bars for up to 45 years.
“I feel like we have heard from the community and the voices of the community quite a bit about a lot of different things [like] how I want to deal with my body … and I have been waiting for them to say, and by the way, this isn’t okay with us either!” Goldberg said.
She added, “This is my opinion. I’m just saying I would like to see some of the people that have been talking about all the ills in our country, I want to see them come out and say, yeah, this is one of them, because it sounds like there’s no response, and it’s just me in my head asking. I’m not blaming this one or that one. This is how I feel.”
Prosecutors said a search of Epstein's Upper East Side mansion yielded a vast trove of hundreds or even thousands of lewd photos of young women or girls. The defense team says the federal charges should be dismissed in light of a once-secret agreement that allowed Epstein to avoid a potentially lengthy prison sentence— a case involving nearly identical allegations of Epstein sexually abusing underage girls. Epstein pleaded guilty to lesser state charges over a decade ago and spent 13 months in jail.
Begin watching at the 4:41 mark:
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Associated Press writers Kiley Armstrong and Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report
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