AceShowbiz - Whoopi Goldberg has defended "Blazing Saddles" against accusations the 1974 Western satire is racist. The comic, 67, warned critics to leave Mel Brooks' film alone during her appearance on "The View" on Wednesday, December 7, as it poked fun at all types of prejudice.

She declared, "Leave my 'Blazing Saddles' alone - don't make me come for you!" Whoopi added that the movie, which mocks small-town racism against its first black sheriff, "deals with racism by coming at it right, straight, out front."

"The Color Purple" actress also said the comedy makes viewers "think and laugh" about bigotry and claimed it targeted "not just racism" but "all the isms." She said, " 'Blazing Saddles', because it's a great comedy, would still go over today - there are a lot of comedies that are not good, OK? We're just going to say that that's not one of them. 'Blazing Saddles' is one of the greatest because it hits everybody. If you've never seen 'Blazing Saddles', you should do yourself a favor, get some popcorn, get a glass of wine, and put it on, because it's magnificent."

The film stars Gene Wilder as a washed-up alcoholic sharpshooter who befriends chain-gang railroad worker turned sheriff Bart, played by Cleavon Little. It has been branded racist and offensive due to jokes featuring the n-word and about rape.

Sarah Haines backed Whoopi on "The View" during a discussion about the film by calling for a "sacred space for comedians," as "laughing is literally the ultimate medicine for life and all that it brings, the inevitable suffering." The television host, 45, added, "If we cannot leave comedians alone, if they stop pushing the boundaries, they're going to step in it and they're going to step over it. And it's OK to have those conversations when that happens but that is one area where you need to leave it alone because they're equal opportunity offenders and we're all going to be on the receiving end."