Rachel Bilson is defending herself against Whoopi Goldberg over remarks she made about men’s sexual histories.
Earlier this week, on her “Broad Ideas” podcast, Bilson initially suggested that if she were dating a man who told her he’d only had a few partners in his life, it might give her pause.
“I don’t know,” Bilson said on the Oct. 2 episode. “Well, if it’s really low, at this day and age, you’d be like, ‘A little weird.’ Like, if a dude — I don’t know, this is gonna sound so judgmental — but if a dude’s like in his 40s and he’s slept with like four women?”
The “O.C.” actor added that “it all depends,” and that it’s “totally respectable” for a sexually active man to have had few partners if, for example, he’s been in multiple long-term relationships. Ultimately, Bilson said, “a person is a person,” and “it’s not fair for me to say either way.”
Goldberg, however, took issue with Bilson’s remarks on Thursday’s episode of “The View.”
“It’s very odd that you’re concerned that he’s had sexual partners ― any sexual partners,” Goldberg said. “Why is it your business? Listen, men traditionally were taught to have many sexual partners. That was how it was. Men could go and do whatever they wanted to do, and women were not supposed to.”
“Now that has been shifting, and young women have been bitching about, ‘Why are you telling me what I should’ ―” she continued, to some applause. “So now this is happening, and now you’re mad. I don’t understand. If he’s happy with you, and you’re having a good time, why are you bitching?”
Bilson responded to Goldberg on Thursday.
Left: Chris Pizzello/Invision/Associated Press; Right: Evan Agostini/Invision/Associated Press
“I’ve been a fan of Whoopi’s for a very long time, so when I saw the tagline that she criticized something I said, I, of course, was concerned,” Bilson told Entertainment Weekly. “We make it a very safe open place to discuss anything, and we were just talking.”
Bilson explained that while she could have edited her full comments out of the podcast, she chose not to, saying it was important that listeners get a complete perspective of her thoughts. She decried “The View” for removing that context.
“The point I get across is that it doesn’t matter, and maybe in the past I would’ve [cared] but I wouldn’t do that anymore,” she told EW. “I made it clear that I don’t want to sound judgmental, it was important that that point get across, not what I said initially.”
Bilson started her podcast in 2022 and has spoken with numerous celebrity guests including Kristen Bell and Chelsea Handler. She hasn’t been shy about discussing sex in the past ― which she says has cost her at least one job — and in general has used her podcast to candidly explore a whole slew of subjects.
Her comments Thursday suggest that won’t change any time soon.