Amid feuding co-hosts on "The View" and tell-all books, Whoopi Goldberg has a solution for bringing everyone together, one that "shocked and thrilled" her.
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The veteran comedian and talk show personality debuted her new clothing collection DUBGEE on Wednesday, and she said that her designs are the one things that her co-workers can agree on.
"I just got back and here's what I can tell you about my co-hosts: They all want the DUBGEE line, which I was happy about because there's a lot of different kinds of women, different bodied women, and they all want the collection – not because it's mine but because they feel like they can rock it," Goldberg told USA TODAY. "That made me happy, that sort of shocked and thrilled me."
Goldberg's DUBGEE (a play on her initials) is meant to provide an inclusive space in the celebrity clothing realm, with sizes ranging from extra small to 3X and prices starting at $89 and going up to $390.
"The last thing you should ever feel bad about is what's in your closet," Goldberg said. "You picked it and you look good in it. … My attitude is how dare anyone tell you what you like? …I'm hellbent on making people feel like there's nothing wrong with being an individual."
The spark for the collection came from a place that regular people can completely understand – vacation body anxiety.
"I went on a vacation, and while I was vacationing I found that I couldn't find any clothes in my size. I started feeling bad about myself, which was kind of new for me," Goldberg said.
"As I saw people getting off these cruise ships … I started thinking about how hard it is for people to save up to actually go on vacation," she said. "Why would you want to feel bad while you're there because you can't find anything?"
Goldberg admitted that at first she just wanted to design a few pieces that could be sold on cruise ships. But she really got into the design process, even embracing color and patterns.
"I wear a white shirt and black pants, that's kind of what I do," Goldberg said. "I started looking at things and colors and eras and all kinds of stuff … the next thing I knew there were samples of, like, 180 things.
"I got so excited and (my business partners) were so open to what was in my mind," she said.
Along with being sold on the DUBGEE site, the collection will hit Amazon, Ashley Stewart, Macy's and Neiman Marcus.
"I do business on all these sites, and I know the thing I want to make sure is that when people see the clothes, they also see me in them," Goldberg said. "You can't just say these are your clothes, you have to wear them."
Goldberg, 63, also gave an update about her recent health struggles, revealing that she's "much, much better" and that prayers and well wishes from fans did wonders for her.
"It got me back up on my feet. I'm so grateful for all the attention," she said. "With pneumonia, you're supposed to cut out as much stuff as you can. … I'm trying not to overdo everything, but of course that's hard not to because I like working. It's been interesting (with) making sure that I go to the doctor when I know I don't feel good, which is something I didn't do."
But she added seriously, you're "never too busy to live."
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