UFC star Josh Hokit sparked outrage on Sunday after he claimed former First Lady Michelle Obama is a "man" before a crowd of thousands who attended the White House's UFC 250 event.
Hokit delivered the remarks in front of President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and roughly 4,300 spectators gathered inside a temporary arena.
A livestream on Paramount+ showed the close-up atmosphere around the Octagon, while organizers estimated that another 90,000 people watched the proceedings on large screens set up at the Ellipse, the 52-acre park located across from the White House.
Speaking to right-wing podcaster Joe Rogan during his post-match interview, Hokit took the mic and said:
"And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?"
You can hear what he said in the video below.
The outrage was palpable.
Michelle Obama has candidly discussed the challenges she faced in dealing with racism and sexism while residing and working in the White House.
In 2017, reflecting on her tenure in the White House, she disclosed that the role exposed her to criticism that often escalated into overtly racist insults.
Obama specifically addressed the personal distress caused by racially charged attacks, such as derogatory comments likening her to an ape and objectifying her based on her physical appearance.
She observed that despite "dedicating eight years of hard work to this nation, there are still individuals who refuse to see beyond my skin color."
Indeed, just months ago, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was called out for defending Trump's decision to share a video on Truth Social depicting Michelle Obama and her husband, former President Barack Obama, as apes dancing in a jungle to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
The portrayal of Black people as apes draws from a long tradition of racist imagery advanced by slave traders, historians and proponents of so-called “scientific” racism, which was used to justify slavery, lynching and the Jim Crow system.
However, Leavitt fooled no one when she condemned the "fake outrage" and insisted Trump had merely posted clips depicting the Obamas and other high-profile critics as "characters from The Lion King."














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