Dana White Critiques UFC Fighter's Insult Towards Michelle Obama; White House Remains Silent

UFC President Dana White condemned a fighter's false insult about Michelle Obama made during a White House event, while the White House declined to comment on the incident.

At a recent White House event, a UFC fighter made a derogatory remark about former first lady Michelle Obama, which has drawn widespread criticism. Dana White, the President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), labeled the comment as 'nasty and false,' describing it as 'nonsense.' The White House, however, chose not to issue a statement regarding the incident.

The controversial remark was made by UFC fighter Josh Hokit during his post-fight speech at the UFC Freedom 250 event, which took place at the White House. Hokit praised President Donald Trump for hosting the fight before he added, 'And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?' This statement elicited a mixed reaction from the audience, with both cheers and boos heard in response. The assertion about Obama has been a recurring theme in online discourse.

In a text message to Time magazine, White expressed his disapproval, stating, 'I understand that the Obamas are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families. Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.' A UFC spokesperson referred CNN to White's comments but did not provide information on whether Hokit faced any consequences for his remark.

When CNN's Jake Tapper inquired about Hokit’s comments, White House communications director Steven Cheung remarked that the UFC fighter 'had a great win last night' and highlighted his performance in the fight, focusing on his toughness and ability to pressure his opponent.

Despite the lack of a direct response from the White House regarding Hokit's comments, there was notable discontent even among some supporters of President Trump. David Marcus, a columnist for Fox News, expressed his disappointment on X (formerly Twitter), stating, 'The fighter yelling “Michelle Obama is a man,” at an official White House event to honor America is utterly unacceptable and the administration should denounce it in no uncertain terms.' He added in a follow-up post, 'I’ve defended the administration’s America 250 plans, because I trusted they really would be non-partisan, really would bring us together. But I was wrong. And it sucks.'

President Trump has previously made remarks that have been criticized as derogatory towards the Obamas. Earlier this year, he shared and then deleted a racially charged video that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama in an offensive manner. Trump later claimed he had not seen the final frames of the video and attributed the error to a staff member.

In a speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Michelle Obama addressed the negativity aimed at her family, stating, 'For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two highly educated successful people, who happen to be Black.' Following the incident, the Democratic Party’s account on X shared an image of Obama smiling and commented, 'Michelle Obama lives in their heads rent-free.'

CNN has attempted to reach out to the office of the former first lady for a statement regarding the incident, but no comments have been made public yet. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.