UFC President Dana White Addresses Josh Hokit’s ‘Nasty and False’ Comment That Michelle Obama ‘Is a Man’

Dana White has addressed the crude comment made by fighter Josh Hokit about Michelle Obama at the UFC Freedom 250 event, held at the White House on Sunday, June 14.

After defeating fellow heavyweight fighter Derrick Lewis in a second-round knockout, Hokit, 28, seized his opportunity on the mic in a post-fight interview with commentator Joe Rogan to disrespect the former first lady, 62.

“Michele Obama is a man. Am I right, America?” he told the crowd, getting a very mixed reaction which included many boos.

Speaking in a text message to Time in an article published the following day, White, 56, shared his thoughts on the matter, explaining that he does not condone that kind of comment at someone else’s expense.

“I understand that the Obama’s [sic] are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families,” White wrote. “Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.”

In addition to insulting Michelle, Hokit took a moment to praise President Donald Trump for throwing the event at the White House as a celebration of the nation’s founding 250 years ago. UFC Freedom 250 also happened to coincide with the weekend of the president’s 80th birthday.

“Hey, shout out to Trump for having the balls to put on some [explative] like this,” he said when Rogan put the mic in his face.

According to a report from CNN, Trump was briefly seen smiling at Hokit’s comments in a quick moment caught on camera. Meanwhile, the popular podcaster, 58, did not address the controversial comment in the moment and didn’t mention it during the rest of the night, where he continued to call the fights from the sidelines as a commentator.