Leave it to a President Trump-affiliated event that is supposed to bring pride to the country, to become a tool to feed divisive, racially-charged and disrespectful rhetoric.
UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit sparked backlash after using his post-fight interview at the White House’s UFC Freedom 250 event, to repeat a false claim about former first lady Michelle Obama following his victory over Derrick Lewis on Sunday.
Jemele Hill Responds To UFC Fighter Calling Michelle Obama A Man
Hokit made himself look good by defeating Lewis by technical knockout at UFC Freedom 250, thanking President Donald Trump for hosting the event before ending his interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan by saying, “Michelle Obama is a man, am I right, America?”
Jemele Hill was one of many Black voices who felt offended by the entire event and the energy it was emitting into the atmosphere.
“This UFC 250 event has the feel of a Klan rally. As if this entire taxpayer-funded event isn’t embarrassing enough, Josh Hokit just ended his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan by calling Michelle Obama a man. Joe Rogan said nothing (not surprised) and the announcers ignored it entirely. Just utterly disgraceful and disgusting.”
Fans React To UFC Fighter Calling Michelle Obama A Man: Next Levels Of Disrespect
“What does Michelle have to do with anything??? The way she lives rent free in their mind should be studied,” one netizen commented on Threads.
Said another netizen: “White conservatives are obsessed with the Obamas. They worship their great orange god who slept through most of fights and is one missed dose of a statin away from a stroke meanwhile the Obamas are looking happy, glistening and living their best lives.”
“And Hokit says this disgusting thing in front of the White House immediately after professing his love for Jesus. Hokit is pure garbage,” added another offended user.
“This is standard behavior for mediocre ass white men !!” one person commented.
UFC Trying To Scrub Hokit’s Offensive Statement About Michelle Obama From Internet
In the aftermath, according to several reports UFC is apparently trying to scrub the footage from the internet, sending out takedown notices.
“They gonna have a hard time with that one, it’s out there lol,” one fan said of UFC’s attempt to control the damage.
“Back in the day this is how the dictators distracted the poor,” BSO editor Robert Littal said.
“No wayyyyy that’s true like Joe didn’t laugh as if it was cool,” another disturbed netizen chriped.
Nice try, but the damage is already done. There are plenty of Black Americans who watched the fight and supported Trump’s attempt to do something historic involving MMA at the White House. We also know that the entire event specifically catered to a particular audience, and the shot at Michelle Obama was a reminder that you can’t teach, breed or buy class.
