From The Washington Post:
After White House bout, UFC fighter disparages Michelle Obama as ‘a man’
The former first lady and her husband, former president Barack Obama, have frequently been the targets of racist insults.
Some in the audience laughed at Hokit’s remark, which is rooted in a baseless far-right conspiracy theory. Right-wing podcaster Joe Rogan, who was conducting the post-fight interview, did not follow up with Hokit on the comment.
ormer president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, have frequently been the targets of racist insults. Trump once shared a video clip on his Truth Social account that depicted the Obamas as apes. The video was deleted after Trump received blowback, but not before the White House defended it.
Robert Griffin III, a former NFL quarterback and a UFC fan who posted his reactions to the fights Sunday, slammed Hokit’s postgame interview.
“What a disgrace. It takes a really small man to use his biggest moment to attack a woman by calling her a man. Especially with the history behind calling black women men,” Griffin wrote on X.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-New Mexico) called his remarks “disgusting.”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who has a history of making controversial comments, said Monday that he thought Hokit’s insult was inappropriate and that Trump should have denounced it.
When you have on the White House lawn... I don’t care what you think about the Obamas or anything, that has to be an immediate denounce,” Portnoy said.
UFC CEO Dana White later told Time magazine that he disliked Hokit’s comment but stopped short of condemning it.
“I understand that the Obama’s are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families,” White told the magazine in a text message. “Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.”
Representatives for Obama, the UFC and numerous sponsors of the event did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Asked about Hokit’s remarks, White House communications director Steven Cheung sent a statement Monday: “He showed toughness and the ability to pressure his opponent both on his feet and on the ground. He’ll definitely move up in the heavyweight rankings.”
Other Republicans defended Hokit. Rep. Brandon Hill (R-Texas) told TMZ that Hokit’s comment was “hilarious.” Dan Bongino, who until January served as deputy director of the FBI under Trump, on Monday waved off criticism of Hokit’s interview as “pearl clutching.”
Dan Merica contributed to this report.
What readers are saying
No comments:
Post a Comment