The UFC fighter who called former first lady Michelle Obama “a man” during the organization’s Freedom 250 fight on the White House lawn said his comment was meant as a compliment.
“I thought I was giving her a compliment,” fighter Josh Hokit said in an interview with podcaster Ariel Helwani. “Michelle Obama being a man, that’s like — she knows how to deal with adversity. She knows how to work hard like a man when the times get tough.”
Hokit made the initial comment, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?” as part of his victory speech after winning his matchup at the June 14 sporting spectacle. The controversial comment sparked widespread backlash, with UFC CEO Dana White calling it “nasty and false.”
“Everyone knows my position on free speech, but I hate that kind of nonsense,” White wrote in a text message to Time magazine.
Hokit, who gave President Donald Trump his victory medal after the fight, is known for saying controversial things to ruffle feathers. He told Helwani in the interview that his strategy of saying eyebrow-raising comments is part of a “numbers game.” Hokit also emphasized that his jab at the former first lady was an exercise in free speech.
“I thought it was a perfect opportunity to show the world how great this country is with the freedom of speech,” Hokit said. “You go somewhere and you say something like that and you die, you know?”
The fighter also emphasized that he did not regret making the comment.
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“There’s a certain side that pokes at another side, and there’s no outrage there,” Hokit said. “And so I thought it was a perfect time to take a jab.”
Obama, who has been in Chicago for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, has not yet publicly responded to any of Hokit’s comments about her.
