After a lengthy weather delay, UFC Freedom 250 eventually proceeded without much issue, bringing a championship bout to the South Lawn of the White House in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the United States on the 80th birthday of United States President Donald Trump. However, the event was not without controversy.
Following one of the fights, a UFC star made what UFC President and CEO Dana White has now described as a “nasty and false” comment about former First Lady Michelle Obama in front of the thousands of fans in attendance and the millions watching on television or streaming.
‘Michelle Obama is a man’
After his high-profile win over Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday evening, UFC star Josh Hokit addressed the crowd in attendance, where he pedaled a right-wing conspiracy theory that former First Lady Michelle Obama is secretly a transgender woman.
“Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?” he yelled into the microphone, eliciting some cheers from the audience.
Hokit was trumpeting a longstanding conspiracy theory that dates back to at least 2008, but which gained steam in 2014 when the late comedian Joan Rivers was filmed on the streets of New York City claiming that Michelle was transgender and Barack Obama was gay.
Since then, the baseless theory has been pushed by fringe media members like Alex Jones and even entered the sports media space when Jason Whitlock discussed it back in 2023.
Different aspects of the conspiracy theory have been continually debunked on Snopes, PolitiFact, USA Today, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reuters, but it still persists. And thanks to the UFC and Hokit, it was amplified at a massive sporting event watched by millions of people.
Dana White Breaks His Silence
While White, who was holding the microphone in the ring, did not say anything about the comments at the time, he has since broken his silence on the matter, calling Hokit’s words “nasty and false.”
In a statement to TIME after the incident, White made it clear that while he supports the First Amendment, what Hokit said in the ring was not acceptable.
“I understand that the Obama’s are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families,” White, the UFC CEO, told TIME in a text message. “Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.”
White had consistently maintained that the UFC event at the White House would not be political, but would be an event for all Americans to enjoy. By allowing a fighter to peddle baseless and “nasty” conspiracy theories against a former First Lady, however, the event certainly crossed that line.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.