My Chat With Whoopi Goldberg

Ricardo José: Why did you decide to write a book?

Whoopi Goldberg: "I decided to write it because I knew I wasn't going to go out on the road again with a comedy act. Book is basically one of my pieces, this is the show that I would be doing if I was going to go on the road."

Ricardo José: Why is it called Book?

Whoopi Goldberg: "So that people can remember the title. Because if you're a book fan, as I am, you go into the bookstore and you go: "You know that book, man, by you know that guy...?!" And nobody ever knows what you're talking about. I figured if I called it Book then people could go in to bookstores and say: "I want Book by Whoopi Goldberg." Very simple!"

Ricardo José: How long did it take you to write Book?

Whoopi Goldberg: "It took me six months."

Ricardo José: And how do you think it's going to do - particularly in Britain?

Whoopi Goldberg: "Well, I don't know... It did pretty well in the States. It's got a lot of strange stuff in it. It's got a lot of rough language which I like to warn people about. But there are also pieces you can read to your children, pieces that you can read to your loved one, things that will not make you very happy and other things that will make you happy. And if you're up for the game, what I suggest you do is put it in the loo and read a chapter every time you go in - that way you might have some fun with it."

Ricardo José: You wrote Book in 1997, have any of your opinions changed? In Book you say that you don't give a damn about what the President gets up to in the bedroom. Have you changed your mind about this in light of recent developments?

Whoopi Goldberg: "No, I haven't - because it hasn't been proved that anything happened. There have been no facts, nobody has been able to prove anything. It's just a lot of "He said", "She said", and as long as it's that I remain where I am. I think if you say to me that some guy came onto you and pushed you beyond your limit which is "No!", and he went away and you went away then there's no problem as far as I'm concerned. But you know how it goes, lots of people have different ideas about it."

Ricardo José: You've mentioned before that you've had some pretty awful come-on lines. Which are the ones that stand out?

Whoopi Goldberg: "Oh no, I couldn't tell you, I couldn't repeat them! But some of them were so bad, you know you just want to... Maybe that will be the next book I write, How To Pick Up People - what not to say, what not to do..."

Ricardo José: Your book is extremely candid. Was there anything you had to think twice about before including?"

Whoopi Goldberg: "The language. I wanted it to be me and this is how I talk when I get passionate - I use the word starting with "f" and the word starting with "s" and it's not everybody's cup of tea. So I tell them to just go through the book and scratch out those things that make them uncomfortable and read beyond that because there's a lot more in this book aside from language which I think is worthwhile."

Ricardo José: What makes you laugh, Whoopi?

Whoopi Goldberg: "Oh, you know... Flatulence! What men do in the bathroom also makes me laugh. A lot of the things in Book are things that have tickled me - for example, the things that people do in their cars, oh yeah! You just want to say: "Do you think nobody can see you with your nose and your finger?" And you walk by some things like that and it's terrible, it's just terrible."

Ricardo José: You've done a whole section on farts, how much research did you have to do for that?

Whoopi Goldberg: "I'm a fart connoisseur so it didn't take a lot of research, I just went from my own experiences."

Ricardo José: You've done so much in your life. What do you consider to be your proudest achievement?

Whoopi Goldberg: "The fact that my child is healthy, and my mom is healthy, and that I'm still here - that is a pretty good achievement in itself, just surviving life, I think, is a pretty good achievement. "

Ricardo José: Everything you do seems to be successful. What is the secret of your success?

Whoopi Goldberg: "I have no clue. And that's good, because if I thought I knew I'd probably mess it all up!"

Ricardo José:They screened Jumpin Jack Flash on telly on Sunday, you made using a computer look so cool. What do you think of the Internet?

Whoopi Goldberg: "I don't know anything about the Internet, I do not surf the web and I can barely turn on a computer, but my grand-daughters can so... "

Ricardo José: "Well maybe they can take a look at what we put up on the site about their grandma!"

Whoopi Goldberg: "Maybe they will, I'll tell them! "