Dana White reiterated his stance on Josh Hokit’s comment about Michelle Obama, calling it ‘stupid’ while defending his right to free speech.
One week after UFC Freedom 250, lots of the coverage focused on Hokit’s post-fight comment referring to the former First Lady as a man.
Right after the event, White shared his reaction with TIME Magazine: “Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.
On Saturday, White was asked again about Hokit’s remark at the post-fight press conference at the Apex by reporter Oscar Willis:
That was disgusting.
There’s always going to be people that say things that most of us don’t agree with. I mean, just the time, the place, you know? I’ve said many times, listen, I voted for Obama the first time, didn’t vote for him the second time. Then, when I was at the inauguration, he was sitting in front of me, and I saw all this stuff on the Internet where people are like ‘Dana is mad dogging Obama…’ Obama is the only one who turned around to me, couldn’t have been a nicer guy, and said, ‘Congratulations on all your success and everything you’ve done’. I said, ‘Thank you, Mr. President,’ and I don’t believe in this shi.
Like all the people that hate Trump, ‘He’s not my president’, all the people that hated Biden, ‘He’s not my president.’ I’ve got some bad fucking news for you, if you’re an American, that’s your president, and I respect all presidents, present and past. Not everybody does, and you’ve got to listen to stupid shit like that sometimes, unfortunately, because I also believe in free speech.
Many came out condemning Hokit for the comment, including Senator Lindsey Graham, Daniel Cormier, Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, former NFL player Robert Griffin III, Jemele Hill, and various politicians.
CNN contacted the White House for a response and was provided a statement from spokesperson Steven Cheung: “He had a great win last night. He showed toughness and the ability to pressure his opponent both on his feet and on the ground”.
Hokit has doubled down on the comment and reacted to criticism from Daniel Cormier by stating, “I’ve been nothing but nice to this fat cow pig… I’m not here for unity, in reality there will never be unity… I come to divide people’s faces… if you don’t like it then come do something about it…”
