"And I don't believe that I have to stay on one side of the fence or the other. I don't believe that there is any good career move or bad career move. I believe there are only the things that make me happy"
About this Quote
The subtext is about power. For most performers, "career move" is coded language for other people's approval: agents, studios, audiences, critics. Goldberg reframes it as an internal metric, swapping the industry scoreboard for a private one. That shift is quietly radical, especially for a Black woman whose career has unfolded under extra scrutiny and narrow expectations about what roles are "appropriate", what tones are "palatable", what lanes are "smart."
It's also a defense against the fear economy of Hollywood. If you accept that every choice must optimize a trajectory, you end up living in permanent audition mode, performing even your decisions. Goldberg's insistence on happiness isn't self-help fluff; it's an exit strategy from a system that punishes drift and rewards compliance. The wit is in the blunt certainty: she doesn't argue, she declines the premise.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Goldberg, Whoopi. (2026, January 15). And I don't believe that I have to stay on one side of the fence or the other. I don't believe that there is any good career move or bad career move. I believe there are only the things that make me happy. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-i-dont-believe-that-i-have-to-stay-on-one-156250/
Chicago Style
Goldberg, Whoopi. "And I don't believe that I have to stay on one side of the fence or the other. I don't believe that there is any good career move or bad career move. I believe there are only the things that make me happy." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-i-dont-believe-that-i-have-to-stay-on-one-156250/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And I don't believe that I have to stay on one side of the fence or the other. I don't believe that there is any good career move or bad career move. I believe there are only the things that make me happy." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-i-dont-believe-that-i-have-to-stay-on-one-156250/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.


