Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell spar over racism on 'The View'

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If you’re struggling to come up with a proper definition of racism, don’t worry — the ladies of ABC’s The View have your back.

Thursday, co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell got into a bit of a shout fest over what can or cannot be defined as “racism.”

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama’s reflections on the subject in this week’s PEOPLE magazine sparked the discussion.

Rosie Perez kicked things off in disbelief that Whoopi wouldn’t call someone mistaking Obama for a valet driver “racist.” Goldberg wouldn’t budge. She compared the president’s ordeal to an African-American being unnecessary followed in a store.

“Do I think it’s racist? No,” Goldberg said. “I just think ‘you’re ignorant.'”

Laverne Cox, who joined the show as a guest host, described the “following” scenario as implicit bias but also described it as racist.

Goldberg wouldn’t budge.

“I’ve been black for 60 years,” Goldberg said. “For me, stupidity, there are dumb folks who just say dumb stuff because they’re not looking or paying attention to the person they’re talking to, which is why people could walk up to Obama and not look up at him and see that it’s the president.”

Then O’Donnell entered the fray, suggesting America is a racist country.

“You don’t have to be black to know what racism is,” O’Donnell continued, citing having a black child and living as a gay American as reasons why she understands not only homophobia but also racism.

“Yes, you do,” Goldberg fired back. “It’s not the same thing.”

Round 2, 3, 4 … Friday?