Whoopi Goldberg’s Doctor ‘Tried Not to Sound Scared’ When She Called During Her Recent Health Struggle

Even though Whoopi Goldberg is back on The View after she recently faced multiple illnesses, her health was actually a lot more worse than it seemed. During the May 20 episode of the talk show, the comedian’s primary physician, Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, said he was really concerned for his patient after Whoopi’s business partner called him.

“I remember specifically it was a Tuesday night and I get a call from Tommy around 9:30 and he goes, ‘Whoopi is on the phone.’ So immediately I’m like, ‘What the hell is wrong?'” he explained. “I could barely understand what Whoopi was saying because her teeth were chattering [and] she was gasping for air.”

Whoopi — who was battling double pneumonia and sepsis — previously told her fans in a video how serious her condition was. “Yes, I came very, very close to leaving the Earth,” the 63-year-old said.

Dr. Jorge even explained that Whoopi’s symptoms “sounded very serious” when she called him on the phone because she told him she could barely walk a couple of feet around her house.

“She said, ‘I really just want to lay down and go to sleep,'” he recalled, but Dr. Jorge was not going to let that happen. “I’m like, ‘Oh hell no you’re not going to sleep’ because you don’t know. It just sounded very serious.”

Dr. Jorge said his worst fear was that Whoopi was going to become “unconscious” if she dozed off, so he told the audience he did everything he could to try and get her to stay awake — even telling her bad jokes. “That’s how serious it was,” he explained. “I tried not to sound sacred.”

Thankfully, Whoopi was able to take an ambulance to the hospital to get the care that she needed.