Whoopi Goldberg and Kenan Thompson shared a comedic moment on The View when Goldberg humorously stumbled over Ariana Grande’s name.

The segment featuring Thompson began with a clip from a skit with Grande that aired during Saturday Night Live‘s Christmas special.

Goldberg, caught in a fit of laughter, tried to welcome Thompson but mistakenly mispronounced the Wicked star’s name in her eagerness to bring him on stage.

“That was the amazing Kenan Thompson shining during the pre-Christmas Saturday Night Live with Adriana Grande,” she said, prompting corrections and chuckles from her fellow hosts. Laughing at her own slip, she added, “Ariana! Oh my, I just want Kenan to come out, so come on out, Kenan!”

Goldberg’s slip-up drew comparisons to John Travolta’s notorious mispronunciation of Frozen star Idina Menzel’s name at the 2014 Oscars, when he oddly called her “Adele Dazeem.”

Later, the SNL icon dished on the “Wicked craze” he and his daughters – Georgia, 10, and Gianna, 7, – found themselves in after watching Jon M. Chu’s series and the Broadway musical.

“I just got thrust into the Wicked world all at once and we saw the second movie, and we bought all the commemorative popcorn buckets,” he explained. “I don’t know if you saw this or not, but there was a bucket for Adriana and there was a bucket for Cynthia [Erivo].”

Thompson’s nod towards Goldberg’s mishap earned a huge laugh from the audience.

“I’m sorry, Ariana!” Goldberg exclaimed.

Goldberg and Thompson share much history together. Thompson famously played Goldberg multiple times on Saturday Night Live skits that satirized The View. Goldberg looked back on his run when Leslie Jones, who later played Goldberg on SNL, visited The View in 2025.

Goldberg joked that seeing Thompson and Jones onscreen was “like looking at myself twice,” prompting Jones to reveal, “He loved it, he loved it! He actually loved playing you.”

But Goldberg later admitted that she “loved” that “finally women were playing us” on SNL.

“Because for the longest time, it was all these guys playing us,” Goldberg said at the time, prompting Joy Behar  to add, “You and me, you and me. We were played by guys.”

The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.