Whoopi Goldberg has sparked debate over church etiquette after criticising people who save seats for latecomers during a discussion on US TV show The View.

Speaking on Wednesday’s episode, Goldberg said people should arrive on time rather than expect others to hold seats for them at church services and public events.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the 70-year-old actress raised the issue while the panel discussed saving seats in public places.

Goldberg said: “To me, here's the biggest reason you don't want to do that, is because you want people to be on time.”

She added: “You don't want them to start thinking, oh, somebody's going to hold this for me, and you don't have to work on getting your behind out of there to get there on time. Don't do that!”

Goldberg then joked that she would take any unoccupied church seat if people arrived late.

“If you're at a place and you see all these empty seats, I'm telling you now, if you come down, I'm gonna be in your chair, because I paid just like you paid,” she said.

Fellow co-host Sunny Hostin agreed that people should be allowed to move belongings used to reserve seats in public spaces.

During the segment, Goldberg dramatically fell back in her chair while joking about how she would react after moving someone’s items.