The hosts of “The View” dug in on the newly reopened investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University on Tuesday morning, and according to host Sunny Hostin, the whole case is being reported “inaccurately” and “unfairly.”
Cornell is facing serious backlash this week, after a former student filed a civil suit claiming that she was drugged, assaulted and gang-raped by seven fraternity brothers in 2024. In recent days, a fraternity group chat from the night of the incident was leaked, showing members were invited to participate in the assault. While the hosts were disgusted by the messages, Hostin argued that due process hasn’t been completed.
“The pictures of these young men who have not been charged, not been adjudicated, are being plastered all over the internet,” she said. “I think people are reporting this story inaccurately. I think they’re reporting it unfairly. And while this is something that we have to take very seriously, there is no way, according to her statement in 2024, that any prosecutor would have brought forth a case.”
Hostin used her experience as a former federal prosecutor to explain exactly why a criminal case was never brought, citing the fact that Jane Doe said in her statement that she was drunk and voluntarily snorted ketamine off of one of the fraternity brothers.
“Under New York law, voluntary intoxication or drug use that merely impairs judgment, does not legally constitute an inability to consent to sexual activity,” Hostin recited. “Right, so that means if you voluntarily ingest drugs, you voluntarily take alcohol, you can agree to have threesomes, which, in her statement, she agreed to have two separate threesomes.”
Host Alyssa Farah Griffin conceded that Hostin was technically correct about the law, but called out the law itself.
“How can the law protect and argue that somebody who, we know when she arrived had had 10 drinks, how could you — this is the law, Sunny is absolutely right on this — how could you possibly consent? How could you possibly be in a decision-making space? My issues is with the law there.”
“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on. ABC.
