Rachel Bilson Reacts to Feud with Whoopi Goldberg Over Body Count Comments

During a recent appearance on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast, the actress reflected on the criticism she received from Goldberg after she said she'd find it "a little weird" if a single man in his 40s had only had four sexual partners.

"Even in the conversation, for when she called out the one line. I was like, 'Hold on. If you're going to take the time to, like, call me out ... [it] almost felt like shaming in a weird way, 'cause that's, like, a big thing now," Bilson, 42, said after briefly recalling her comments, which she made on her Broad Ideas podcast in October. "If you listen to the whole conversation, I immediately say, 'Wait, I'm not [judgmental], I'm all about whatever works for people, you know?' It was just like us f--king shooting the s--t."

"I normally don't respond when I get called out for things," she continued. "But then again, it's like, 'Alright, well, if you're talking about my podcast and I said something, let me respond. Because it's just going to bring more people to maybe hear the conversation in the first place,'" she recalled, referencing her Broad Ideas podcast, where she made the initial comments in October.

Since the conversation did make headlines, Maher joked that Bilson "should be sending them a fruit basket," to which the actress quipped in reply, "I should be sending Whoopi a f--king Christmas present is what I should be doing."

It all began in October when Bilson shared during an episode of her Broad Ideas podcast that she believes it's "weird" if a single man in his 40s has a "really low" body count.

"This is gonna sound so judgmental, but if a dude is in his 40s and he [has] only slept with four women ... but it all depends," she said. "Maybe he's been in decade [long] relationships, totally respectable."

However, she went on to clarify, "It's not fair for me to say, either way. … A person is a person."

A few days later, Goldberg called out The OC star on an episode of The View, slamming Bilson for "bitching" about being "concerned" over the number of sexual partners a man has had.

"I'm sorry, I think it's very odd that you're concerned that he's had sexual partners -- any sexual partners. Why is it your business?" Goldberg said.

"Listen, men, traditionally, were taught to have many sexual partners. That's how it was," she continued. "Men could go and do whatever they wanted to do, and women were not supposed to. Now, that has been shifting, and young women have been bitching about, you know, 'Why are you telling me what I should be [doing?]' Now, it's happening [the other way around], and you're mad. I don't understand."

"If he's happy with you and you're having a good time, why are you bitching?" she concluded.

After Bilson caught wind that Goldberg had "criticized something [she] said, she clapped back and clarified her comments while speaking with Entertainment Weekly.

"We make it a very safe open place to discuss anything, and we were just talking," Bilson told EW. "I have the power to edit our podcast, and I chose to keep the conversation as a whole in, because a lot of the time in life, you say something, and maybe you have a minute and you reflect on it."

This was referring to her later acknowledging that it wasn't "fair" of her to break down someone's sex life at all, anyway. She tried to clarify with EW that she was actually trying to say that the "little weird" stance might have been something she would have held years ago.

"The point I get across is that it doesn't matter, and maybe in the past I would've looked at it [judgmentally], but I wouldn't do that anymore. I made it clear that I don't want to sound judgmental, it was important that that point get across, not what I said initially."

Bilson chose to speak out because she felt that Goldberg and The View were picking a sound byte rather than highlighting the full conversation on the topic. She did, however, say she's also reconsidered her own words and no longer stands by her initial statement at all.

"It was a flippant comment that I was just talking with friends, and then I retracted it, because even talking about it now, I'm like, I don't actually believe that," she explained. "That's why I think it's important to stand up for it and clarify."

"Whatever's out there, a clickbait comment, if you go on to listen to the conversation as a whole, and hear what I have to say, it actually isn't what was first presented," Bilson added. "I think it's important to hear a whole conversation before casting your own judgment or criticism on something."

Bilson's co-host Olivia Allen also spoke with EW, saying that because they purposefully edit their show to be like actual conversations, "people should listen to the whole episode before passing judgment."