Whoopi Goldberg Claims Bakery ‘Refused’ to Make Birthday Dessert for Her Because of Her ‘Politics’ — and the Owner Responds

Whoopi Goldberg’s birthday treat was bittersweet this year.

While celebrating her 69th birthday on The View on Wednesday, Nov. 13, the TV personality claimed that the bakery that made her birthday treats initially refused to take her order, and speculated it was because of her political views. The business — which the host chose not to name, but was identified by Entertainment Weekly as Holtermann’s Bakery — later denied this claim.

After an hour of celebrations that included Goldberg gifting the audience with her favorite things, and friend James Monroe Iglehart performing the title track from Broadway’s A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical, The View’s co-hosts enjoyed a dessert close to the actress’s heart: Charlotte Russe.

The dessert — a trifle-esque treat with layers of sponge cake, Bavarian cream and fruit — was one of Goldberg’s mom’s favorites growing up, the star explained before revealing that she had a difficult time obtaining the cherry-topped dish from the Staten Island bakery.

“Now, I should tell you, Charlotte Russe has no political leanings, and the place that made these refused to make them for me,” the actress explained as the crowd gasped.

Her co-hosts also had strong reactions to the information, with Sunny Hostin asking, “Oh, really?” and Sara Haines immediately spitting out her bite, earning laughs from the audience.

“They said that their ovens had gone down, all kinds of stuff, but folks went and got them anyway,” Goldberg explained, “which is why I’m not telling you who made them.”

But, the Sister Act star theorized, “it can’t be because I’m a woman, but perhaps they did not like my politics.”

“But that’s okay,” Goldberg continued, “because you know what? Listen, this is my mother’s celebration. Pick these up and celebrate with me and my mom. Thank you everyone for celebrating my birthday today.”

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After the actress’s on-air claim that the bakery rejected her because of her politics and used technical difficulties as an excuse, Holtermann’s Bakery owner Jill Holtermann denied this, telling EW that “it was not because of political” affiliations, but rather because “we were having trouble with our boilers.”

Holtermann said that The View co-host initially asked for treats for a Nov. 6 talk show appearance and as well as her birthday broadcast, both of which the baker refused to do because she “didn’t want to make a commitment that I can’t carry through.”

“I said to Whoopi, ‘I can’t do it right now,'” she told the outlet. “We have so many things going on with my boiler,’ because the building is from 1930, so, when she called me, I had no idea [if we could] be baking everything.”

The bakery owner also confirmed Goldberg’s claim that a woman, whom neither identified, did come to pick up approximately 50 Charlotte Russe desserts in the morning of Nov. 13, which the owner was said she was ultimately able to make despite the boiler troubles.

She also told EW that she was not aware of who the woman was, or that had any affiliations to Goldberg or The View.

PEOPLE has reached out to Holtermann’s Bakery and to The View for further comment, but did not immediately hear back from either.