It's about time that everyone made a sincere effort to pronounce names correctly. Yes, pronunciation can get hairy, but it should be seen as a courtesy to others to get the name right. That being said, snafus happen. Wednesday on The Talk, host Sara Gilbert announced the nominees for the Daytime Emmy Awards. Among these nominations were the ladies of The View. Gilbert struggled to pronounce a few names, and Whoopi Goldberg, who is one of the hosts of The View, has words.
During the announcement, Gilbert recited the following names: Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Candice Cameron Bure, Raven-Symoné, Paula Faris, Sara Haines, Jedediah Bila, and Sunny Hostin. Gilbert mispronounced the last names of Haines, Bila, and Hostin. (The View is nominated for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host.)
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Thursday on The View, Goldberg made a subtle reference to the slip-up, as E! Online reports.
"I think [the nominations] were announced on The Talk and I think a couple of the women weren't sure about the pronunciation of everyone's names so please introduce yourself so people know," Goldberg said. The women of the show then introduced themselves.
Goldberg added afterward, "We're thrilled that you guys announced us...we love that, and we just wanted to say, ‘Hey, here's how you do our names,' 'cause maybe our names or some of our names are a little more difficult for folks."
The shade it subtle, but it's there — and warranted. Learning the proper pronunciation of a name is a very easy way to signify respect. However, in a heartfelt moment on her own show, almost immediately after Goldberg's subtle slight, Gilbert apologized for the misstep.
"I got so many names wrong because I was so nervous and normally when we say people's names, we've gone over who the guests are and we practiced, but this was an in-the-moment thing where we were finding out right along with you who was nominated," Gilbert said on Thursday, choking back tears.
It appears there's no hard feelings between the women — and there probably weren't any in the first place. This tiny issue is a great example of how to handle public snafus. First, politely educate the person who misspoke. In this case, Goldberg provided the proper pronunciations of her host peers. Next, issue a heartfelt apology. Finally: In the future, make sure mispronunciations don't happen. (Or you'll be John Travolta, announcing a performance by "Adele Dazeem.")