Whoopi Goldberg used Hollywood fixer Anthony Pellicano to ‘catch and kill’ explosive story revealing her health secret, audio reveals

He infuriates her so much that she won’t even say his name and only calls him “You Know Who” in regular rants on the hit television show The View.

Just last week, Whoopi Goldberg, 68, responded to Donald Trump’s new interview with Time magazine by bashing the former president for everything from his admission that he would allow states to monitor women’s pregnancies to his claim that he ‘would definitely consider issuing a pardon on January 6′. insurgents.’

But the truth is that Goldberg has more in common with the 77-year-old Trump than she would like to admit.

Because, DailyMail.com can reveal, there is one dubious practice that both have engaged in: using a ‘fixer’ to pay hush money to destroy potentially scandalous stories.

In Trump’s case, for which he is currently on trial in Manhattan Criminal Court, this catch and kill of a story he did not want made public fell into the hands of disgraced lawyer Michael Cohen, who played stripper Stormy Daniels paid $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged one-night stand with the then-presidential candidate.

With Goldberg, it was infamous private investigator Anthony Pellicano, now 80, – a man once known as Hollywood’s “fixer of fixers” – who negotiated a generous “kill fee” with two freelance reporters who threatened to reveal sensitive medical information about the star to the hospital. tabloids.

The actress used infamous PI Anthony Pellicano to negotiate a ‘kill fee’ with two reporters to stop the publication of a story about a cancer scare

Just last week, Goldberg slammed Donald Trump – who is on trial for his own catch and kill scheme – for his comments in a recent interview

On audio tape obtained by Pellicano’s fellow fixer, Paul Barresi, 75, and reviewed by DailyMail.com, you hear the investigator speaking to the freelancers, one of whom tells him: ‘The Globe published a story about her breast reduction a week ago. , or something like that… Now the Star is working on something that took her to St. John’s Hospital for a mammogram.”

The reporter tells Pellicano that the Star is looking into a story claiming that Goldberg has had “a cancer scare.”

DailyMail.com reviewed audiotape obtained by Pellicano’s fellow fixer, Paul Barresi, 75

At the time, it was common knowledge that Pellicano, whose clients also included Chris Rock, Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise and Hollywood Kingpins, was a close friend of Goldberg’s, acting not only as her “fixer” but also as her bodyguard.

In the recording of the phone call that took place in 1994, the reporters ask for $5,000 to provide the name of the hospital informant Pellicano requested.

Pellicano replies, “Now Whoopi is a very good friend of mine. This really pisses me off. So I’m willing to take money out of my pocket… not out of her pocket… to give to you. Now you want to give me a more reasonable number. The answer is yes.’

It’s a curious echo of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s 2019 testimony before Congress, in which he described the mechanism by which adult actress Stormy was reimbursed in 2016.

According to Cohen, the money came from his pocket — not Trump’s campaign funds — and was repaid the following year in payments disguised as legal fees.

As the reporters’ conversation with Pellicano continues, they become bolder in their requests, suggesting that Goldberg might ruin the story himself by giving them an interview that they could sell for $10,000.

Pellicano rebuffs the attempt to force Goldberg’s hand, saying, “Yes, except for one thing… She hates the damn Enquirer and the Star.

‘She hates all the tabloids. She’s not going to do that.’

He continues, “I have to figure out what to do, I can’t tell her [about this story] on the phone.’

At this point one of the reporters says, “I can kill the story.” I can probably kill the story.”

To which Pellicano replies, “Well, if you can end the story, I can probably get some more money from her.”

“I’m not going to talk to her about his on the phone. I need to speak to her personally about this. And she’s going to freak the fuck out. This is what I want with this resource. I want his name. I want his social security number and I want his phone number.”

In the recording of the 1994 phone call, Pellicano says, “Now Whoopi is a very good friend of mine. This really pisses me off. So I’m willing to take money out of my pocket… not out of her pocket… to give to you. Now you want to give me a more reasonable number. The answer is yes’

Pellicano was released in 2019 after serving 15 years in prison after being convicted of 78 counts of wiretapping, intimidation and extortion. He was seen in court in 2009

His clients included Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise. Pellicano became prolific in obtaining and protecting Hollywood stars’ darkest secrets, using a vast network of wiretaps.

At the time of the conversation, Pellicano was at the top of his decidedly dark game. But everything changed in 2002 with a federal investigation into the private investigator who boasted of powerful ties to the mafia.

The FBI raided his Los Angeles offices and discovered a trove of incriminating evidence, including firearms and two hand grenades, military-grade plastic C-4 explosives, a detonator, jewelry, gold coins and gold bullion, and $200,000 in cash .

In subsequent searches, agents seized 36 pieces of electronic equipment, including listening software, hard drives and storage files, 150,000 pages of documents, encrypted transcripts of telephone conversations and more than 1,300 tape recordings.

Pellicano was ultimately sentenced to 27 to 32 months in prison, and on the day of his scheduled release in February 2006, the man Goldberg once considered a friend was slapped with a federal wiretapping charge.

Among his victims were the biggest stars of the day: Sylvester Stallone, Oscar winner Keith Carradine, Garry Shandling, Kevin Nealon and Donna Dubrow, ex-wife of Die-Hard director John McTiernan.

McTiernan was later convicted as part of Pellicano’s prosecution and sentenced to 10 months in prison.

Pellicano, whose former protege Barresi was questioned by the FBI in 2004 about the practices that earned his former mentor the nickname the Big Sleazy, was sentenced to 15 years.

Berresi told DailyMail.com: ‘It is always easier to be critical than to be correct. Whoopi has been spewing hate against President Trump for years.

“As a veteran and Trump supporter who would follow him into battle any day of the week, I decided to make the audio recording public to show that Whoopi had something very much in common with ‘You Know Who.’ She also had her own fixer.’