Living & Entertainment

Whoopi Goldberg Makes Honest Confession About ‘Ghost' Co-Star Patrick Swayze

It's been over 25 years since Whoopi Goldberg made Ghost with Patrick Swayze, but she will never forget what he did for her.

Goldberg appeared on the Rich Eisen Show, where host Rich Eisen surprised her with an epic throwback moment. Eisen showed Goldberg a picture of her winning an Oscar for her portrayal of Oda Mae Brown in Ghost.

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After declaring that she looked good, The View host admitted she was grateful to have earned the Oscar for a movie where someone really wanted to work with her. Goldberg explained that the reason she was in the film was because of Swayze and explained how it happened.

Goldberg revealed that back in the day, she was at lunch with a friend who had just auditioned for Ghost. Her friend declared, "Every black woman and their mother was there," but Goldberg wasn't and knew nothing about the film.

"When we got finished with lunch, I called my agent and said, ‘Do you know about this movie that everybody's talking about?' He said, ‘Oh, who told you?' And I told him, I said, ‘Why did you say it like that?' He said, ‘Because they don't want you,'" she spilled.

Things changed when Swayze was cast in Ghost, and he wanted to know why Goldberg wasn't attached to the movie.

"Patrick Swayze, he said, ‘Well, I don't know if I want to commit to this until we find out if she would do it, because I think I should do it with her.' And it was a match made in heaven, for me, made in heaven, because he was extraordinary. As you think he might be, he was even better. And we created this movie that you know, lives on," Goldberg gushed.

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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 1:32 PM.

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