Sunny Hostin Accuses Alyssa Farah Griffin of 'Dismissing' Her Experiences With Racism on 'The View'

On a recent episode of The View, co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin engaged in a heated debate after Griffin's assertion—that the 'vast majority' of Americans are not racist—seemed to offend Hostin. The discussion initially began as a Hot Topics conversation about Nikki Haley blaming Barack Obama for dividing the country but quickly shifted into a tense exploration of race dynamics in America, as reported by Decider.

“We don’t know that!” Joy Behar chimed in, while Hostin pointed out that white supremacy is 'the biggest threat to our country today,' according to FBI director Christopher A. Wray. Griffin countered, “That still doesn’t mean that that’s the vast majority of people. I just don’t believe that in my day-to-day life, that the people you’re encountering harbor racist viewpoints,” to which Hostin replied back, “If you looked like me, you would believe differently."

The clash between co-hosts Griffin and Hostin on The View stemmed from Griffin, a former White House staffer, seeking clarification from Hostin on her belief about the majority of Americans being racist. “I think that there is a significant portion that are racist and you can’t dismiss my lived experience,” Hostin snapped.

“When I say that there are a lot of racists in this country — I just experienced my son walking down the beach being called the N-word several times in Florida. So you can’t say, ‘I believe that the vast majority of people aren’t racist.’ We don’t know that.” Griffin eventually backed down, telling Hostin, “That’s fair. There are 300 million people in this country. I would never minimize your lived experience any more than I would mine as an Arab woman.”

Griffin recognized the existence of racist individuals but contended that they do not represent 'the vast majority of people' in America. The exchange took an unexpected turn when even the typically neutral Sara Haines joined in with a pointed remark towards Hostin, adding another layer of tension to the discussion.

“[Haley is] doing what every politician does in DC. Panders, double talks, flip-flops,” Haines said. “Anyone that believes there is some kind of iconic DC politician that does not play the same game every time an election rolls around, they’re being intellectually dishonest. This is what they do.”

Hostin also recently disclosed her feelings of being 'insulted' by Tim Scott's denial of the existence of systemic racism during his appearance on the popular daytime talk show, as reported by Decider. In a heated exchange back in June 2023, South Carolina's Scott clashed fiercely with The View co-hosts Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg on this issue. The incident resurfaced on the January 31 episode of The View during an interview with author Clay Cane, whose book The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump expands on the history of Black Republicans.