Whoopi Goldberg. Picture: Facebook/ABC
Whoopi Goldberg doesn’t think it was “possible” that Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, could have endured a “near catastrophic” car chase in New York City.
The royal couple – who had attended the Ms Foundation for Women’s annual gala in New York on Tuesday – were in a car with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland after the event as they were allegedly being followed by paparazzi when they were involved in a supposed chase that had been described as “near-catastrophic”.
But “Sister Act” star Goldberg said it was unlikely to have happened in such a way because of how traffic heavy the Big Apple is.
Speaking on US talk show “The View”, she said: “Their spokesperson called it a ‘near-catastrophic car chase’. Others said it wasn’t bad, but I think people in New York know if it was possible to have car chases in New York, we’d all make it to the theatre on time.
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“I think their spokesperson referenced something that you generally would reference in Los Angeles. That’s where you have chases, that’s where you can move at high speeds.”
The Egot winner said while the couple may have had to deal with “aggressive paparazzi” during the alleged incident, such a high-speed incident would “not work” in such a location.
She said: “I think they were dealing with aggressive paparazzi, but I don’t think it was where, you know, you’re watching on TV … just watching the cars go … because it just doesn’t work in New York.”
Following the incident, Harry and Meghan were ushered into a street cab amid the supposed chase and driver Sonny Singh, 37, has claimed that the incident has been “exaggerated”.
He told “The Washington Post”: “The security guard hailed me and next thing you know, Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab. As we went up the block, we got blocked by a garbage truck and all of a sudden paparazzi came and started taking pictures.
“They were just about to give me the location of where they were going to go but then they told me to circle back to the precinct, so we had to circle back to the precinct.
“They were nice people, they looked nervous, I think they had been chased the whole day or something so they were nervous. But the security guard was on it.
“I don’t think it is true (that it was near-catastrophic), I think that’s all exaggerated so don’t read too much into that. New York is the safest place to be, right?
“There are police stations and cops on every corner so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Following the crash, a representative for Harry – whose mother Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in 1997 at the age of 36 – alleged that the “relentless pursuit” of the royal couple had resulted in “near collisions” involving a slew of other drivers and pedestrians.
The rep said: “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers.”
They said: “While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.
“Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved.”
What’s more, the NYPD has released a statement in which they claim that “no arrests” have been made following the incident, nor was anyone at the scene injured.
Police said: “Tuesday evening, May 16, the NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in this regard.”