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We told you yesterday that Stephen A. Smith caught some hell late last week for saying that women shouldn’t provoke the domestic violence they receive when speaking about Ray Rice and his infamous violent fight with then-fiancée, Janay Palmer. While his statement wasn’t received well, Smith says that he does stand by his point, but could have expressed it in a more articulate manner.

“On Friday, speaking right here on ‘First Take’ on the subject of domestic violence, I made what can only amount to the most egregious error of my career…My words came across that it is somehow a woman’s fault. This was not my intent. It is not what I was trying to say. Yet the failure to clearly articulate something different lies squarely on my shoulders. To say what I actually said was foolish is an understatement. To say I was wrong is obvious, to apologize, to say I’m sorry, doesn’t do the matter its proper justice to be quite honest. But I do sincerely apologize.”

But one public figure who is coming to Smith’s defense is Whoopi Goldberg. On yesterday’s episode of The View, Goldberg said that in general, no one should put their hands on anyone else, but if you make the choice to, don’t be surprised in this day and age if you are hit back.

“The comment that he made is based on what the young lady said she did. Let me just make that clear to ya’ll. She said, ‘I hit him,’ and I believe that’s what Stephen was pointing out.

I’m sorry, if you hit somebody, you can not be sure that you’re not going to get hit back. If you’re a little boy and you grow up with a little sister and your mother says no, you can never hit her, and she’s hitting you all the time, well you know what…you have to teach women do NOT, do not put your hands on anybody! Let me just finish my point because I know I’m going to catch a lot of hell, and I don’t care. You have to teach women, do not live with this idea that men have this chivalry thing still with them. Don’t assume that that’s still in place. So don’t be surprised if you hit a man and he hits you back. You hit somebody, they hit you back! Don’t be surprised! You have to teach the women not to put their hands up on anybody. That’s not blame the victim, I just said, don’t anybody, hit anybody! Don’t hit anybody! But if you make the choice as a woman who’s 4’3″ and you decide to hit a guy who’s 6’0″ and you’re the last thing he wants to deal with that day and he hits you back, you cannot be surprised! Let’s not hit anyone.”

This isn’t the first time Goldberg has spoken out about the role she thinks women can play in violent confrontations. After Solange Knowles was taped kicking the hell out of Jay Z in a hotel elevator after the Met Gala, Goldberg said that she was very lucky that he didn’t resort to the same violence she was unleashing on him:

“I think Solange was quite ready for him to do whatever he was gonna do. This is the thing. If anybody hits you, you have the right –I know that many people are raised in a very different way, but if a woman hits you, to me, you have the right to hit her back. If I slap a man, he has every right to slap me back. Every right.”

Check out Goldberg’s thoughts on handling violence below, and let us know if you agree, or if she should “catch a lot of hell” for her comments.

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