Whoopi Goldberg is getting a whole new View of the stage.

The View co-host is slated to host the 62nd Annual Tony Awards next month, CBS announced Thursday.

“Whoopi Goldberg is everything you look for in a host she’s funny, she’s smart, she’s won every award there is,” Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President, Specials, Music and Live Events, CBS Entertainment said in a statement. “The industry has honored her and the audience obviously adores her. We’re looking forward to having her be our ringleader on the Tony Awards on June 15.”

Part of small and elite group of entertainers who’ve won the Big Four (Grammy, Oscar, Emmy and Tony), Whoopi is “thrilled” to be hosting the even for the first time. She has hosted the Academy Awards four times.

“I’m very excited to be hosting the Tony Awards,” Whoopi said. “I love Broadway and I’m thrilled to be doing anything for the first time. I’m going to have a blast.”

The Tony Awards will air live on CBS from Radio City Music Hall on June 15 at 8:00 p.m.

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WENN

Whoopi Goldberg has defended jailed actor Wesley Snipes and insists he has been used to “set an example” to the American people.

Last week, the Blade actor was handed a three-year jail term by Florida Judge William Terrell Hodges after, he was convicted of failing to file his taxes for five years.

But Goldberg is convinced Hollywood stars who break the law are being used as scapegoats by the U.S government in a bid to deter other people from criminal activity.

She says, “This is not unusual. With tax evasion, (the IRS) gets very, very agitated and if you’re famous they are putting you behind some kind of bar.”

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Whoopi Goldberg held back tears as she spoke of her disappointment at not being part of a past Oscars glory tribute on her daily talk show The View yesterday. The actress, who won gold for Ghost in 1990 and has hosted the Oscars, was left out of a montage of great moments from past shows, which ran throughout Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony.

Trying to see the funny side of the omission, Goldberg joked, “Undoubtedly, I p**sed somebody off once again.”

WENN

Confirming the casting news that has been circulating all week, Barbara Walters announced that Whoopi Goldberg will be joining The View permanently.

“This is a big day for us. A happy day for us,” Walters, 77, said on the ABC show Wednesday.

Goldberg, 51, is scheduled to start the day after Labor Day. For her part, the performer said the new job as the show’s moderator is “a thrill” – and she promised to dress better.

“Ever watch The View?” Walters jokingly asked Goldberg as she sat down at the table and was presented with her own coffee mug.

“Once or twice,” Goldberg cracked. “You look familiar.”

No mention was made of comedian Sherri Shepherd, 40, whose name had circulated as the other likely contender to join the show in the fall. The published reports about Shepherd were not even addressed.

Elisabeth Hasslebeck, 30, asked what Goldberg thought of celebrity feuds, since the show has had its share recently. The new cohost told her and the other cohost, Joy Behar, 62, that she’s too mellow to get involved with such things – though Walters said she should remain edgy.

Goldberg also said she is most excited about the “Hot Topics” portion of the program. “The thing I’m looking forward to the least is getting in between everyone talking at one time.”

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