MMA fighter Josh Hokit shared he was doing just fine amid the immense blowback surrounding his “Michelle Obama is a man” comment made at the the UFC Freedom 250 event last week.
During a Tuesday appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” the controversial athlete broke his silence on the now infamous moment at Trump’s birthday celebration on the White House lawn, noting he had no plans to “backtrack” the remark.
He did, however, claim that he meant the comment – which many took as a racially motivated dig at the former first lady – to be viewed as a compliment.
“I thought I was giving her a compliment,” Hokit said, before further elaborating, “Michelle Obama being a man … it’s like, she knows how to deal with adversity. She knows how to work hard like a man when the times get tough.”
Later on in the sit down, Hokit defended that his comment was meant to showcase the power of the first amendment in the United States.
“I thought it was a perfect opportunity to show the world how great this country is with freedom of speech,” he said. “You go somewhere [else in the world] and you say something like that and you die.”
At this moment, Hokit clarified that he was doing just fine in the aftermath of the controversy, adding, “And I’m not suicidal by the way. I’m in good spirits. I’m a little under the weather right now but other that than, I’m good. And so in other parts of the world, you say something like that and you’re not here to speak to Ariel Helwani, you know.”
On why he chose “to go there,” as Helwani asked during their interview, Hokit noted that there were “a few answers to that,” but eventually said, “There’s a certain side that pokes at another side and there’s no outrage there, and so I thought it was a perfect time to take a jab.”
However, he made it clear that this explanation was not meant to walk back is remark in any way, stating that is something he’ll “never” do.
Hokit’s statement on the controversy comes after UFC CEO Dana White publicly denounced his joke, telling media that he is “completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families.”
White added: “Everyone knows my position on free speech, but I hate that kind of nonsense.”
Hokit also faced criticism from a number of public figures, including Alexis Ohanian, Tim Miller, Democratic Texas Congressman Christian Menefee and Fox News columnist David Marcus, among countless others.
