Update (11/8/22 11:21 a.m. EST): Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin got into it, while discussing negative political rhetoric, on The View on Tuesday, November 8. Alyssa brought up her co-host’s comments from last week, when speaking about comments from the left about Republicans. When Sunny asked for clarity, Alyssa brought it up. “Last week, you called white Republican women cockroaches,” she said.
After a brief scuffle, where they spoke over each other, Whoopi Goldberg had them both stop and let Sunny clarify that her comments were being taken out of context. “She said I called white women roaches, which my mother’s a white woman, so I wouldn’t say that,” she said. “Second of all, what I used was a metaphor—really, more in a simile—and I said, ‘White women—Republicans—I just read a poll that the suburbans are now voting Republican. That is like roaches voting for Raid.”
Sunny also explained that she was referencing a popular comic’s similar remarks. “That wasn’t my joke. That was John Leguizamo’s joke,” she said. “It was a joke that I’ve used on this show a few weeks ago… referring to Latinos, and no one had anything to say about it.”
After the commercial break, Alyssa clarified that she understood that Sunny was using a metaphor.”This idea that because someone disagrees with you, we should be name-calling, we should be getting into low-blows,” she said, while explaining that she tries to go high, even when members of her party go low.
Original: Sunny Hostin was shocked to learn that there are many white women in the suburbs who plan to vote Republican in the upcoming midterm elections on November 8. The View host called out women voting against their own self-interests (namely healthcare) with a vivid metaphor during a “Hot Topic” discussion on the show on Thursday, November 3. “What’s also surprising to me is the abortion issue. I read a poll just yesterday that white, Republican, suburban women are now going to vote Republican. It’s almost like roaches voting for Raid,” she said.
After Sunny made the comparison, The View’s conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin spoke up to argue against the statement, but Sunny continued and predicted that a Republican win would be similar to the dystopian society in the popular Hulu series The Handmaid’s Tale. “They’re voting against their own self-interest. Do they want to live in Gilead? Do they want to live in The Handmaid’s Tale?” she said.
Alyssa retorted by calling Sunny’s remark “insulting” and explained that different people elect based on a variety of issues. “Do we love democracy or not? Because just saying that it’s insulting to the voter. People make up decisions on what’s right to their family, and the idea that you should have a say for everyone else’s vote…” she said, before Sunny further explained her reasoning.
Sunny seemed to imply that the reason she felt that white suburban women voting for Republicans would be against their self-interest was related to abortion rights, and the right to choose. “I am very surprised that white, Republican, suburban women are voting against their own healthcare,” she said.
Alyssa brought up recent comments that Sunny made, where she said that she doesn’t agree with abortion personally, because of her Catholic faith (although she did say that she believes that women should have the choice), and Sunny explained that her view has not “evolved,” and she still feels that it’s important for women to have the right to choose. “I believe that abortion is wrong for me. There’s a separation between government and church, and I do not have the right to tell someone else. However, they are voting against their own self-interest,” she said.
The audience applauded Sunny’s point, but co-host Sara Haines also reiterated that “everyone has a priority list,” noting that while she was passionate about abortion issues, she was very concerned about election deniers in the 2020 election. After some more discussion, the hosts went to a commercial break shortly after.