Whoopi Goldberg might go live on The View every weekday morning, but according to the comedian, it’s vastly different from what she does on the standup stage.

On this morning’s episode of the hit daytime talk show—which also marked the final live episode before the ladies go on holiday hiatus for two weeks—comedian Kumail Nanjiani stopped by the Hot Topics table to talk about his new standup special, Night Thoughts, which was nominated for a Golden Globe before it even hit streaming.

“I was really, really surprised because it’s a very personal special,” Nanjiani said of the nomination. “I didn’t do standup for about 10 years and came back to it. For me, it was really nice to get nominated for something that’s so close to me.”

According to the Only Murders in the Building star, he decided to dip his toes back into the world of standup comedy during the actors’ strike in 2023. “I was just sitting at home, feeling creatively frustrated, and I was like, ‘Let’s see if this is something I still like, and something I could still be good at,’” he told the women.

Nanjiani was certainly in good company, with both Goldberg and Joy Behar starting their careers in standup comedy. While Behar said she hadn’t done any standup “lately,” Goldberg told him that she will “occasionally” hop back on the stage.

“How does it feel?” he asked, to which Goldberg replied, “Weird. Because where I am doing it, I’m a lot safer. It’s a muscle that, if you stop using it, it’s just a little weird. But you get back into it and then you’re done and you think, ‘Alright. I did that.’”
'The View'Photo: ABC
Nanjiani pointed out that Goldberg gets “to do a live performance often,” referring to her daily moderating duties on The View, which airs live every Monday through Friday.

“Well, yeah, but when you’re doing it in a standup thing, you’re doing a whole different thing,” Goldberg said. “Here, you’re an adult. In your standup, you don’t have to be. You get to be a kid.”