The hosts of “The View” had no interest in discussing this weekend’s UFC fight at the White House on Monday morning. Instead, they flat out rejected the topic to focus on the NBA champions instead.
To kick off the week, the ABC hosts immediately celebrated the New York Knicks’ victory, which snapped a 53-year drought for the team. Eventually though, moderator Whoopi Goldberg had to tee up the day’s Hot Topics, which began with getting her co-hosts’ assessment of the White House event over the weekend. Without missing a beat, host Alyssa Farah Griffin simply moved on.
“Can’t we focus on the Knicks?” she said. “I’ve been a diehard fan for three whole weeks! I’m an absolute bandwagon fan.”
The decision sparked cheers from both the audience and the hosts, and Sara Haines promptly confirmed Farah Griffin’s recent fan status. According to the host, at this year’s Upfronts presentation, she and Farah Griffin took photos with NBA finals MVP Jalen Brunson, but Farah Griffin only joined in because he was cute.
That said, host Sunny Hostin did carve out a moment to address the slur hurled at former First Lady Michelle Obama by one of the fighters after the event.
“I think the reason that it’s important is because, for a long time — and the roots are in slavery — Black women have been slurred, and made to feel that they were unattractive, made to feel that they were masculine, made to feel that they were — they didn’t have the femininity that a white woman would have,” she explained. “And so there’s this intersectionality between racism and sexism that was on full display at the White House.”
Hostin shamed both the crowd for laughing along, and the president for “smirking” at the insult, calling it “beneath the dignity of the office” and the American people.
The hosts all agreed, prompting Ana Navarro to pivot back to the Knicks. According to the host, she is also not a sports fan, but was converted during these games, and wants to hold onto the feelings of “unity” and “joy” that came from Knicks fans.
“And so I’ll tell you, I didn’t watch one second of that UFC fight because, to me, that does not celebrate America’s 250th anniversary,” she said. “That does not signify Americas best values.”
“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.