Whoopi Goldberg Compares Lindsay Clancy Criticism to Pete Hegseth's Comments About Women: 'It's the Same Sort of Argument'

Whoopi Goldberg compared critics of Lindsay Clancy's insanity defense to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

On the Tuesday, September 8, episode of The View, Goldberg argued that people ridiculing Clancy’s defense team — who maintain she should not be convicted of murder due to severe mental instability —sound remarkably similar to Hegseth arguing that women should not serve in military combat units.

“I’m gonna point out the fact that women and medicine, people generally don’t believe women when they come in and say something’s wrong,” Goldberg said. “They pat you on the head — and it’s the same sort of argument that this Hegseth person is using about why women shouldn’t be in the military: because we get periods, okay.”

Goldberg said she was “not surprised” that men condemned Clancy’s defense, because “they never” take women’s health issues seriously.

Hegseth has frequently railed against women serving in the military, saying in November 2024, “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.”

The segment on The View followed a mistrial declaration in the high-profile Clancy murder trial. The co-hosts heavily debated criminal responsibility versus mental illness.

Sunny Hostin acknowledged the perspective of the lone holdout juror who resisted convicting Clancy on three counts of first-degree murder, emphasizing that the case is fundamentally about criminal responsibility and insanity rather than whether the acts occurred.

“It’s about criminal responsibility, not whether or not she did it or not,” Hostin said. “We know she killed her children. She also tried to kill herself.”

Alyssa Farah Griffin expressed sympathy for Clancy's severe mental health issues. She noted the medical system failed her, but ultimately sided with the view that postpartum psychosis shouldn't completely exonerate someone from a murder conviction.

“I’m not putting any blame on her husband here, but she did say, ‘I have had thoughts of harming the child.’ She never should have been alone in a home with those kids. Those doctors and the medical system failed her,” Griffin said. “But where I agree with this one juror holding out is while psychosis explains it, while it should be factored into the sentencing, she still did kill her kids, and that does not exonerate her in my eyes.”

Following her mistrial, Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday, September 8, and publicly called on President Donald Trump to pardon Clancy.

Legal analysts have quickly pointed out that the president has no constitutional authority to pardon state-level charges. Analysts suggest the defense is intentionally trying to politicize the case and apply public pressure as the prosecution decides its next move. Reddington also noted that Clancy remains paralyzed from her 2023 suicide attempt, is heavily medicated, suicidal, and "living in her own h---."

Because the case ended in a mistrial rather than an acquittal, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz is legally permitted to retry Clancy with a new jury.

While the D.A.'s office has stated their ultimate goal remains "getting justice for those three little babies," prosecutors have not yet officially announced whether they will move forward with a second trial.