Whoopi Goldbergisn’t putting a filter on her Photoshop perspective.
Amid the ongoing drama surroundingKate Middleton‘s Mother’s Day social media post, which resulted in her issuing an apology over a photo many news outlets pulled due to its suspected manipulation,The Viewmoderator gave her two cents on the photo editing debacle.
“I’m sorry, I know very few people who don’t manipulate their own photos,” she told her cohosts during aMarch 11 episode of the talk show. “I mean all you gotta do is swipe—none of those people look like those people look.”
And while some of her fellow panelists, includingSara HainesandSunny Hostin, argued that the “future queen” wouldn’t take and subsequently edit her own photos, Whoopi doubled down.
“She may be the future queen,” the 68-year-old countered. “But she’s still an amateur photographer, that’s what they do.”
On March 10, the Princess of Wales, who has been absent from the public eye while recovering from January abdominal surgery posted a photo of herself with her andPrince William‘s kidsPrince George, 10,Princess Charlotte, 8, andPrince Louis, 5, in honor of U.K.’sMother’s Day.
However, the photo raised eyebrows over its seemingly photoshopped appearance and prominent publications, including theAssociated PressandReuters, later issued a “kill notice” for not meeting the outlets’ editorial standards.
“Kensington Palace had issued the image Sunday as speculation swirled on social media about the whereabouts of the oft-photographed princess who hadn’t been seen in public since December,” theAP said in a statement. “Close study of the image revealed inconsistencies that suggested it had been altered, for instance in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand with the sleeve of her sweater.”
Samir Hussein/WireImage
Following the debate that sparked surrounding theAP‘s statement, Kate issued a follow-up post taking responsibility for the photo’s irregularities.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the 42-year-old wrote onX, formerly Twitter, March 11. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
As Kate continues to recuperate—Kensington Palace stated that the princess would not return to royal duty until after Easter–the royal family appears to be returning to business as usual. In fact, William was seen attending Commonwealth Day celebrations with Queen Camilla on March 11 at Westminster Abbey.
Despite the royal family seemingly attempting to move past the controversy, royal expertOmid Scobieshared why he believes it exemplifies how they are losing public trust.
“With the Palace’s long history of lying, covering up, and even issuing statements on behalf of family members without their permission (cc: Prince Harry),” he wrote onX March 11.”It’s becoming increasingly difficult for the public to believe a word (and now photo) they share.”