Whoopi Was Startled When She Accidentally Discovered This About Former NFL Star, Tony Gonzalez

On Tuesday, PBS genealogy program presenter Henry Louis Gates, Jr. visited The View and shared some news about Whoopi Goldberg's lineage. More than 15 years ago, when the show was still called African American Lives, Goldberg did make an appearance on it. However, Gates said that "new sophisticated tests" had shown that Goldberg was linked to a former football player.

Gates explained on the show, "On the first series, I did Whoopi and we didn’t have the sophisticated tests that we now use for DNA at that time. You all know about DNA cousins? You have a DNA cousin, dear ... Tony Gonzales is your DNA cousin." When Goldberg heard the news, she was speechless. She said, "That’s my cousin!?" As reported by The Wrap, there were some faint gasps from the crowd as Gates announced the identity, but Whoopi herself seemed puzzled. Sara Haines, her co-host, then revealed that he plays football as pictures of Gonzalez appeared on screen. Sunny Hostin immediately responded, "He is smokin’!" and Haines added, "Wow, I want to come over for your family dinner." At the conclusion of the show, Goldberg got her composure back. She concluded, "Cousin Tony, come see me here. We’d like to have you here at The View. Tony Gonzalez, come on!"

After spending 17 years with the Chiefs and Falcons, during which he scored 111 touchdowns and amassed more than 15,000 receiving yards, Gonzalez was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019. He was a six-time All-Pro and a 14-time Pro Bowl player. He presently works as an NFL studio commentator for Amazon Prime Video's Thursday Night Football. Apart from this, Gates also discussed his finding that, in 1873, Goldberg's grandparents received almost 100 acres of property in Florida as a result of an application made in response to the Homestead Act of 1862. He said that the government had accepted the land claims of a lucky 10% of African Americans, of whom Goldberg's family had been one.

Gates Jr. has previously startled celebrities with their family history. Edward Norton was informed by the presenter of Finding Your Roots in January 2023 that the legendary Pocahontas was, in fact, his twelfth great-grandmother. As reported by Us Weekly, Gates told the actor, "I understand that was family lore [you heard growing up]. Well, it is absolutely true." Gates Jr. continued by saying that John Rolfe, an English settler who wed Pocahontas, is the ancestor of Norton's family. Norton said, "This is about as far back as you can go unless you’re a Viking makes you realize what a small piece of the whole human story you are." Apart from Pocahontas, Gates Jr. disclosed that John Winstead, Norton's third great-grandfather, had slaves at one time, based on the 1850 North Carolina census. Norton added, "The short answer is these things are uncomfortable, and you should be uncomfortable with them, everybody should be uncomfortable with it."