Josh Hokit refuses to “backtrack” his vile and false comment he made about former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The UFC fighter spoke about the moment during the UFC Freedom 250 event on The Ariel Helwani Show, where he shared he did not mean his remark as an insult.
“I thought I was giving her a compliment,” Hokit told Helwani.
After Hokit’s win over Derrick Lewis, he was interviewed by podcaster Joe Rogan when he unexpectedly shouted towards the end of his interview, “And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
Helwani explained that the comment was not received as a compliment by others.
“She knows how to deal with adversity. She knows how to work hard like a man when the times get tough,” he explained.
Michelle was not in attendance at the event; it was looked at as random to bring her up.
“I thought it was a perfect opportunity to show the world how great this country is with freedom of speech,” Hokit explained on why he decided to bring her up.
Despite the backlash he’s received, he shared that he is not going to “backtrack” his comment.
“You’ll never hear me backtrack from what I say,” he said.
Several people condemned Hokit’s derogatory remark toward Michelle including UFC CEO Dana White.
“I understand that the Obamas are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families,” he stated, adding. “Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.
Cam Newton also spoke out against Hokit on his podcast.
“In our culture, we don’t play about certain individuals. Certain people are untouchable,” Newton said on 4thand1 podcast. “If you utter anything disrespectful about an Obama, it doesn’t matter if it’s the daughters, it doesn’t matter if it’s the wife… They are some good people; they served this country well.”
He later added, “Who knows whether he was in his right or wrong mind. But at the end of the day… be very careful and be very mindful the people who you ain’t cool with or who you don’t like.”
Alexis Ohanian, who is married to tennis icon Serena Williams, was present at the event but was not there when Hokit made the comment. He stated that the comment was “vile and inappropriate” on X.
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