The View host Sunny Hostin DENIES calling white women roaches and claims her words were 'twisted'

Sunny Hostin has denied calling white women who vote Republican 'roaches' and insisted a comment which made the comparison was 'twisted'.

The View host said she was using a 'metaphor, really more in a simile' when she remarked that white women voting Republican was like 'roaches voting for Raid'.

She attempted to clarify the controversial comment on Tuesday - five days after making the initial remark on last Thursday's The View.

In a heated exchange with co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump staffer, Hostin also tried to deflect criticism by saying 'my mother is a white woman'.

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg was forced to cut to a commercial break during the confrontation after Hostin and Griffin constantly talked over each.

On last Thursday's show, Hostin sparked fury when she said: 'The abortion issue. I read a poll just yesterday that white, Republican, suburban women are now going to vote Republican.

'It's almost like roaches voting for Raid. They are voting against their own self-interest. Do they want to live in Gilead? Do they want to live in The Handmaid's Tale?'

Sunny Hostin (left) tried to deflect criticism for saying white women voting Republican was like 'roaches voting for raid' by claiming her statement was 'a metaphor, really more in a simile'

The View host tried to explain her cockroach comment by saying 'my mother is a white woman'

Co- host Whoopi Goldberg was forced to cut to a break after Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin kept speaking over each other during a confrontation about last week's 'roach' remark

The exchange began when Griffin called out Hostin by telling her: 'Last week, you called white Republican women cockroaches... you said they were acting like cockroaches.'

Hostin immediately hit back - and the two women briefly spoke over each other with raised voices before Goldberg interjected and told them to 'tone it down'.

Hostin then said: 'She just said I called white women roaches, which my mother is a white woman, so I would say that. 

'Second of all, what I used was a metaphor. Really more a simile.

'And I said white women, Republicans, I just read a poll that the suburbans are now voting Republican. That is like roaches voting for Raid.

'Now by the way, that wasn't my joke...

'That was John Leguizamo's joke. It's a joke that I've used on this show a few weeks ago... referring to Latinos and no one had anything to say about it.

'The last thing I'll say is, I continued by saying, 'do they want to be in Gilead, do they want to lose their rights'.'

She accused Griffin of 'twisting what I said', adding: 'Don't say that I called white women roaches.'

Actor John Leguizamo faced a backlash in October 2020 when he said 'Latin people for Republicans are like roaches for Raid'.

Hostin is a devout Catholic who has said she doesn't support abortion but thinks it should be legal. 

The 'roach' episode also drew criticism after Joy Behar labeled the GOP a 'cult' and Sara Haines said every Republican candidate in the midterms was an election denier.

 

Hostin's words sparked an instant backlash - and The View was accused of pro-Democrat bias

The show has been slammed in the past for what some viewers condemned as consistently one-sided commentary.

DailyMail.com columnist Meghan McCain departed the show after routinely clashing with Behar.

Behar told Meghan in one particularly brutal exchange that she didn't miss her while she was on maternity leave. 

Griffin was brought onto the show to fill Meghan's seat in August.