Shocking moment Whoopi Goldberg tears up legal note from co-host live on-air after savage Trump joke

Outspoken star of The View and acting superstar Whoopi Goldberg was seen tearing up a note asking her to clarify remarks she made about Donald Trump - sparking a huge round of applause from the audience.

On Monday, the four hosts were discussing a few of the more shocking moments during Trump's sit-down interview with 60 Minutes, when Sunny Hostin pointed out the president's surprising response to a question about crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who was freed after receiving a pardon from the president.

Binance founder Zhao, who has a net worth of $82 billion, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges last year and was imprisoned for four months after federal prosecutors argued he had caused 'significant harm' to US national security.

But when asked why the crypto billionaire had received a presidential pardon, Trump told CBS' Norah O'Donnell: “OK, are you ready? I don’t know who he is.”

This response drew incredulity from many critics, including those on The View who were quick to point out Trump's hypocrisy, after spending months slamming former President Biden for using an autopen to sign dozens of pardons issued at the end of his term in office.

Trump argued these were invalid as 'Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them'.

Hostin pointed out this irony to her co-hosts, saying: "He said that Joe Biden didn’t know who he was pardoning using an autopen. How come you don’t know who this guy is?"

At which point, Goldberg could not resist cracking wise by jumping in to say: "Because he used an autopen." But this short offhand remark clearly sparked concern over potential legal action from the increasingly litigious Trump administration.

Goldberg joked Trump 'used an autopen' (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Later, as the Sister Act star and vocal critic of the president was speaking, Hostin - a former prosecutor who often issues legal notes live on-air on the show - was seen writing and passing a note to her. Immediately, this not-so-subtle attempt to steer her co-host seemed to backfire, with Goldberg exploding: "What the hell! What?"

"We don't know if Trump used an autopen to pardon, it was a joke!" she added as she tore up the note and blasted the need to issue a clarification in the first place.

But Hostin, attempting to clear the air, repeated the clarification that it is not known if Trump used an autopen to sign the billionaire's pardon.

This need to tread carefully just enraged Goldberg further, who argued: "I’m sorry. The hardest thing about this job now is no one understands nuance. You know when you hear a joke, when somebody is fooling around, when they’re not saying something specific."

She added: "Especially on this show. I’m very specific when I’m pointing stuff out. When I’m making jokes, you know when I’m making jokes. This is ridiculous," after which point, the studio audience erupted in a loud round of applause.