Whoopi Goldberg rushed to defend California gubernatorial hopeful Katie Porter’s temperament after she faced a wave of backlash last year for explosive caught-on-camera outbursts at staffers and a reporter.
Goldberg praised the former Golden State congresswoman’s performance during Tuesday’s gubernatorial debate after Republicans rivals blasted her fiery temper – pointing to footage showing her berating two staffers and throwing a tantrum during an interview.
The Orange County pol responded by hurling insults and calling out her male opponents for “bickering.”
“Maybe she does yell at people,” the “Ghost” actress said on Thursday’s episode of “The View.”
“I yell at people. You yell at people. You yell at people and sometimes it’s not nice,” she continued, addressing her co-hosts and the audience.
Co-host Joy Behar quipped that “PMS” was responsible for Porter’s meltdowns, but Alyssa Farah Griffin pushed back, ripping her “volatility” and stressing it shouldn’t be ignored.
Griffin also pointed to shocking abuse allegations leveled against the 52-year-old by her ex-husband.
“I think how somebody treats staff under them says so much about their character and we should note we saw the video where she berated her staffer in a way I’ve never in any job in politics been talked to,” the Trump White House alum said.
“That to me is a sign of very questionable character. She’s had abuse allegations against her from her husband, she’s had counter-abuse allegations, her against him. I think there’s volatility there that needs to be taken seriously. If it was a man to a woman, I think that we would take it seriously.”
Porter – who has developed a reputation for losing her cool when she doesn’t get her way – came under scrutiny in October after resurfaced footage exposed her furious outbursts and nasty remarks.
The firestorm erupted when a tense on-air clash between Porter and CBS reporter Julie Watts went viral – with the former rep oddly accusing the journalist of being “unnecessarily argumentative,” when asked about the difficulty of scoring votes from Trump supporters.
She then cut the interview and removed her microphone before snapping, “I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it.”
Another video showed the testy lawmaker yelling at a female staffer to “get out of my f—king shot” during a July 2021 Zoom discussion with the Biden administration. She was then caught flashing an icy glare at a worker after sparring with her staff over a lighting issue during another 2021 Zoom meeting.
In 2022, Porter was accused by a former congressional aide of bullying after the lawmaker allegedly claimed the staffer exposed her to COVID-19 by working in person during the pandemic.
Her ex-husband, Matthew Hoffman, also alleged in their 2013 divorce proceedings that she frequently abused him verbally — and once dumped scalding-hot mashed potatoes on his head during a fight.
“When she gets angry, she will claw and scratch her arms and then say to me, ‘Look what you made me do,’” Hoffman shockingly stated in court papers.
