On Tuesday’s episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin voiced their displeasure with the acquittal of Daniel Penny, a former U.S. Marine.

Penny, 26, was found not guilty of negligent homicide in the subway death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man with a history of mental illness and aggressive behavior.

While Penny’s supporters see the verdict as justice served, Goldberg and Hostin took a different approach, questioning both the legal outcome and the broader implications for society.

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As The New York Post reported, Goldberg zeroed in on Penny’s post-verdict celebration, which reportedly took place at a bar alongside his legal team.

Her disapproval was clear: “I don’t know that seeing them celebrating in a bar made me comfortable,” she remarked.

Daniel Penny celebrates not guilty verdict with lawyers at NYC bar https://t.co/2LGT70m7eA pic.twitter.com/Naam1h66dn

— New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) December 9, 2024

“You killed a guy. The man is dead, and maybe just—you take the celebration home, you don’t do it outside. But that’s just me.” Goldberg also expressed sympathy for Neely, noting his troubled background, including the murder of his mother, which she believes contributed to his mental health struggles.

Sunny Hostin took a more systemic view, lamenting what she described as a lack of compassion in society.

“Where is our compassion as a society?” she asked, suggesting that justice was not served in Neely’s case.

Hostin questioned the portrayal of Neely as a threat during the incident, saying, “Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator, talked about being hungry and thirsty, and he said he didn’t care if he lived or died. There is no evidence that he attacked anyone. There’s no evidence that he put his hands on anyone—on this occasion.”

Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, offering a more balanced take, interjected during the discussion to acknowledge that while Neely may not have been aggressive during the specific subway incident, his history included prior assaults.

Griffin stated that Penny should not be cast as a villain, a point Hostin reluctantly acknowledged.

The case stems from an incident last year when Penny restrained Neely with a chokehold after Neely entered a subway car shouting death threats while allegedly under the influence of K2, a synthetic drug.

Penny faced charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. While the first charge was dismissed last week, he was acquitted of the second on Monday.

Goldberg pointed to multiple failures within society, including the legal system, hospitals, and the community, saying, “There’s failure all over here.” She framed Neely’s death as a broader indictment of how mental health and homelessness are addressed in America.

The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg is upset that American hero Daniel Penny celebrated at a bar after being found not guilty of criminally negligent h-micide in the death of Jordan Neely.

Goldberg: “I don’t know that seeing them celebrating in a bar made me comfortable, you… pic.twitter.com/qjz6OX3ZjC

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) December 10, 2024

Hostin, while acknowledging Neely’s tragic life circumstances, questioned the threshold for labeling someone as dangerous.

“How do we describe and subscribe danger, and who is dangerous, right?” she asked, reiterating that Neely did not physically harm anyone during the incident.

As the discussion wrapped up, the hosts remained divided on Penny’s role in Neely’s death and the societal failures that led to it. Goldberg and Hostin called for more compassion and systemic change, while Griffin focused on the complexities of self-defense and public safety.

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