Whoopi Goldberg urges people to ‘stop bitching about’ age gap in ‘Idea of You’

Whoopi Goldberg slammed people who called Anne Hathaway’s character “disgusting” for dating a younger man in the trailer for the upcoming film, “The Idea of You.”

In the movie, Hathaway plays a 41-year-old mom who dates a 29-year-old pop star (Nicholas Galitzine).

“Apparently, the internet is divided on it,” Goldberg said on Thursday’s episode of “The View.”

“Some call the age gap disgusting, while others say they’re here for it.”

Goldberg brought up the controversy from the trailer of “The Idea of You” on Thursday’s episode of “The View.” The VIew/ABC The “Sister Act” star didn’t understand what the “problem” was. The VIew/ABC

The “Sister Act” star pointed out that the plot of the movie is “not new” and listed off several celebrities who have younger partners in real life.

“What is the problem?! If you don’t wanna see the movie, don’t see the movie! Stop bitching about it!” Goldberg said while the audience applauded.

Goldberg’s “View” co-hosts agreed with her with Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines pointing out that they’re also married to younger men.

“Stop bitching about it!” Goldberg proclaimed. The VIew/ABC The other “View” co-hosts agreed, pointing out that some of them are married to younger men. The VIew/ABC

“I always have a younger guy,” Behar — who is married to Steve Janowitz since 2011 — quipped. “My husband is 7 years younger than me. He drives at night, he does the heavy lifting, he’s sharp as a tack!”

Alyssa Farah Griffin also came to Hathaway’s defense and slammed trolls who called her a “cougar.”

“I just refuse to accept that Anne Hathaway is capable of being a cougar, so I reject that outright, but it’s also just such a double standard,” Griffin said.

“There are so many men who have dated women 20, 30 years younger, and no one bats an eye.”

Alyssa Farah Griffin also slammed people for calling Hathaway a “cougar.” The VIew/ABC In the new film, Hathaway plays a mom in her 40s who strikes up a romance with a popular musician in his 20s. Courtesy of Prime

Behar pointed out that people are upset about the trailer, because “they don’t want [the age gap] in real life.”

The trailer for the upcoming movie –– which is based on the bestselling book by Robinne Lee –– shows Hathaway’s character (Solène) meeting Galitzine’s character (Hayes) at Coachella before their relationship quickly heats up.

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The topic of their age difference comes up in the trailer when Solène asks him what “people will say” about it, to which Hayes responds, “I don’t care what they say.”

Shortly after the novel rose to fame in 2017, fans began to speculate on whether Galitzine’s character was inspired by Harry Styles –– who often dated older women, including his ex Olivia Wilde.

The movie follows their steamy relationship while they try to balance the backlash over their age gap. YouTube/Prime Video The movie is based on Robinne Lee’s bestselling book. Alisha Wetherill/Prime

The author later clarified to Vogue in 2020 that the book was “never supposed to be a book about Harry Styles.”

“It was supposed to be a story about a woman approaching 40 and reclaiming her sexuality and rediscovering herself, just at the point that society traditionally writes women off as desirable and viable and whole,” she shared.

“The Idea of You” premieres on May 2 on Prime Video.