WATCH: Whoopi Goldberg returns to The View, pledges to keep having ‘tough conversations’

"Well, hello, hello, hello, and welcome to 'The View.' And yes, I am back," commented Goldberg on her first day back after a two-week forced hiatus to the show due to a comment about the Jewish Holocaust.

Whoopi told View viewers that "the Holocaust isn't about race," a statement which, besides offending millions, represents for many critics a strange twisting of obvious facts. In response to the backlash over those comments, the ABC network suspended Whoopi for two weeks.

Goldberg, after saying she missed everybody, said "There's something kinda marvellous about being on a show like this, because we are 'The View,' and this is what we do."

"And sometimes we don't do it as elegantly as we could, but, you know, it's five minutes to get in important information about topics, and that's what we try and do every day."

Goldberg then then thanked people who "reached out while I was away," commenting further that she was surprised by how many people, and from where, reached out to her in support. "I listened to everything people had to say, and I was grateful," she said.

"And I hope it keeps all the important conversations happening," Goldberg went on, "because we're gonna keep having tough conversations, and in part, because this is what we've been hired to do."

"And it's not always pretty, as I said, and it's not always as other people would like to hear, but it's an honor to sit at this table and be able to have these conversations, because they're important."

She concluded her speech with, "They're important to us as a nation, and more, as a human entity. So, happy Valentine's Day, y'all."