Whoopi Goldberg Shares Mom’s Heartbreaking Experience Following Electroshock Therapy

According to the "View" co-host, her mother "didn't tell anybody" about the details of her treatment for decades.

As she gears up to release a new memoir, Whoopi Goldberg is talking about a painful and life-changing childhood moment for the first time.

In an interview with People magazine published Thursday, the “View” co-host recalled how her mother, Emma Harris, was hospitalized for about two years following a mental breakdown. During that hospitalization, which began when Goldberg was 8 years old, Harris underwent electroshock therapy that wiped her memory to the extent that she had no recognition of her two children, Goldberg and her older brother, Clyde Johnson.

“My mother at one point when I got older … said, ‘Can I tell you a secret?’ I was like, ‘Sure,’” Goldberg told the outlet. “She said, ‘I didn’t know who you were when I got out of the hospital.’ It’s like, ‘I’m sorry, what? I’m sorry, what?’ She said, ‘Yeah, I had no idea who you were.’”

Though Goldberg didn’t specify when this discussion took place, she noted that Harris “didn’t tell anybody” about her experience for decades.

“I said, ‘So you carried this for 40 years?’ She said, ‘Well, what else was I going to do?’” Goldberg said.