Whoopi meets Wyclef - actress Whoopi Goldberg - Interview

When Whoopi Goldberg says she's one of a kind, she's just stating a fact. In her three-decade career, she has proven herself to be above stereotypes and beyond typecasting - a woman of many, many colors. On the eve of her hosting the last Oscars of the century, rapper Wyclef Jean of the Fugees finds out what else is on Whoopi's warrior mind

As a child growing up In Manhattan, Whoopi Goldberg was exposed to the city's Jumble of cultures and characters. That climate of limitless possibility and personalities seeded a diverse, distinguished career. She made her debut on New York City stages at age eight and has since starred In everything from one-woman Broadway shows and The Color Purple (1985) to her current stint on TV's Hollywood squares. On March 21, she hosts the Academy Awards for the third time.

Here, the Oscar-winning actor talks to Wyclef Jean of the multiplatinum hip-hop group the Fugees. With its mix of Caribbean music and rap, Jean's first solo album, Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring Refugee Allstars (Columbia), released in 1997, has been making Goldberg crazy. Jean also contributed a song to the soundtrack of How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998). When he saw the movie, the Haitian-American rapper was offended by a joke made about Haitians and AIDS, and he spoke out against it during the 1998 MTV Music Awards. The line was subsequently removed from the home-video release of the movie. Goldberg, who starred in Stella, appreciated Jean's protest and was happy to get political.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: It's nice to hear your voice.

WYCLEF JEAN: Yo, your voice is sexier than mine.

WG: Oh, but yours got the punch to it, baby!

WJ: I got that morning voice.

WG: Where are you?

WJ: I'm in Jersey, in my studio.

WG: That's hysterical. I'm in Tuxedo Park.

WJ: Where's that at?

WG: That's off the [New Jersey] Turnpike by Route 17.

WJ: You ain't far from me then.

WG: No! That's why I'm laughing.

WJ: You coulda just came here. You coulda just came to the Booga Basement.

WG: The Booga Basement, baby.

WJ: We're being taped. Does that mean I can't say no curse words?

WG: And should I be Linda or Monica? [laughs] You know, I want to thank you for making them take that line out of How Stella Got Her Groove Back. It was pointed out several times before the film was released. So I'm glad you busted it right on TV.

WJ: I didn't know what was going to happen afterwards, if I was going to get blackballed. I just felt like the statement needed to be made.

WG: Well, you see what happened. They took it out.

WJ: Yeah. So I'm happy for that. Let me ask you something: It seems that you work whenever you want. . .

WG: Hmm.

WJ:. . . you do whatever you want. . .

WG: [chuckles]

WJ:. . . however you want to do it - and if anyone don't like it, fuck them. There's no current fur you, no wave, no time. That is the must incredible thing. Because I see how hectic and political it is for me. And for you, it's a quadrillion times that. You've got locks covering your shoulders, like Solomon or Samson. And you're forefront in Hollywood. Just give me one percent [of how you do it] so I can apply it to what I'm doing.

WG: What I know, and it doesn't always serve me well in the big picture, but what I know is: I can do anything. And I don't believe that I have to stay on one side of the fence or the other. I don't believe that there is any good career move or bad career move. I believe there are only the things that make me happy. I've had my hair like this from day one, mostly because it's much more comfortable and it looks good on my head. I don't want to be runnin' to some motherfucker to straighten the shit out! When I started, I knew I didn't fit any visual that anyone was going to lie down and take their clothes off about. Work doesn't come to me; I go out and look for it. I call motherfuckers up and say, "Can I have a job? Can I work with you?" Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Black folks get really pissed off about my choices, white folks get really pissed off, and sometimes everybody's mad. But you can only do what you can do, and explain yourself if you choose to. And people have come to understand that me doing Star Trek: The Next Generation [1988-92] didn't hurt me. I still got an Oscar for Ghost [1990]. [laughs] It's being willing to walk away that gives you strength and power - if you're willing to accept the consequences of doing what you want to do.

WJ: I think a lot of kids today who are trying to get into the industry, whether it's film or music, don't come into it militant enough. They don't have the self-esteem to say, "Yes, I want to do this. No, I don't want to do this." Someone who comes from the 'hood and wants to be the Illest actor - they're like an ant walking Into Hollywood.

WG: The key is this - this is why the Fugees are where you are and folks are trying to pretend they're you: You have to come as an original. If you come in and you're imitating everyone else, you get swept away in the game. But if you're coming as one unto yourself, they can't replace you; they can only try to get somebody who's like you. For some reason, all artists have self-esteem issues. We're always saying, "Well, I lucked out; I don't know why this happened to me." Things happen to you out of luck, and if you get to stick around it's because you're talented. Longevity is everything: how long you last, how long you keep evolving and going. And if you are not going to have longevity, if you are going to be a one-hit wonder or a two-movie diva queen, then your shit's gon' fall apart - because they'll just move you out the way!