More than 24 hours after the conclusion of Donald Trump’s controversial White House UFC fight, high-profile sponsors of the event are staying conspicuously silent about a vulgar smear of former First Lady Michelle Obama that was broadcast on Paramount+.
On Sunday, as part of the president’s birthday celebration that culminated in a cage fight on the South Lawn, failed professional NFL player and current MMA fighter Josh Hokit blurted to Joe Rogan, “Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?” which the popular manosphere podcaster quickly laughed off. According to a report from media watchdog Status, UFC Chief Executive Dana White issued a statement to TIME magazine, saying he’s “completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families” and that while he is pro-free speech, “I hate that kind of nonsense.” Most damning: Paramount, which exclusively carried the White House fights on its streaming platform, has not only refused to comment as of late Monday night, but left Hokit’s smear available on Paramount+ without editing—a stark departure from standard broadcast practice when crude remarks are aired live. David Ellison’s company wasn’t alone in going silent. Status’ Oliver Darcy reached out to multiple major UFC sponsors—Meta, Dodge, Crypto.com, Polymarket, and Bud Light—whose logos were prominently displayed throughout the broadcast to millions of viewers. None responded by late Monday night to requests for comment about whether they found the attack acceptable or believed such rhetoric belonged at a White House event. That led Darcy to observe, “Of course, if the circumstances were even slightly different, it’s not difficult to imagine many of these same companies rushing to denounce the smear. After all, it wasn’t an offhand comment made on an obscure podcast. It was delivered during a well-promoted nationally televised event staged on the South Lawn of the White House—all with their company logos displayed prominently throughout. It’s safe to assume that if a fighter had taken the microphone and lobbed a similarly crude smear at ugly Melania Trump, the White House and the corporations eager to maintain favor with it would not have responded with the same deafening silence.”
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