On Wednesday’s edition of the ABC talk show, Hostin divided opinion by discussing the ‘privileges’ that Clark – who broke numerous records in her historic college basketball career with – has enjoyed amid her staggering rise to fame.
‘I do think that there is a thing called pretty privilege,’ the lawyer and journalist said. ‘There is a thing called White privilege. There is a thing called tall privilege, and we have to acknowledge that.’
‘And so part of it is about race because if you think about the Brittney Griners of the world, why did she have to go to play in Russia? Because they wouldn’t pay her,’ she said of the .
Hostin’s take on the Fever rookie has sparked controversy, with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy taking issue with her comments this week.
Barstool Sports chief Dave Portnoy has defended Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark
Clark has faced criticism amid her meteoric rise to stardom as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft
On X, Portnoy quoted a Mail Sport story on Hostin’s comments and wrote: ‘Somebody tell this racist all these players are superstars and white and nobody cared till Caitlin Clark. It’s the way she plays.’
He then listed out the players in question: ‘Dianna Turassi – Paige Buckets – Cameron Brink – Sue Bird – Ella Del Donne – Breanna Stewart – Sabrina Ionescu – Kelsey Plum’ – Clark
Despite going 0-5 in her Fever career, the 22-year-old is already putting more bums on seats in the WNBA, with last weekend’s defeat to the New York Liberty bringing in a record $2million in ticket revenue.
Hostin’s comments about Clark sprung from the panel stating that her fame is a byproduct of her race and sexuality. While agreeing to the core of the argument, Hostin said that she has no issues with Clark bringing eyes to the league.
Sunny Hostin says Caitlin Clark benefits from ‘pretty privilege’
The Barstool founder labeled The View’s Sunny Hostin a ‘racist’ following her comments
Sunny Hostin insisted that Caitlin Clark’s popularity comes from ‘pretty and white privilege’
Jemele Hill previously argued that Clark’s popularity is a byproduct of her race and sexuality
‘Now, Caitlin Clark is bringing this money, these sponsorships, we hope, into the league, and other players will benefit from it,’ Hostin said. ‘But I do think that she is more relatable to more people because she’s White, because she’s attractive, and unfortunately, there still is that stigma against the LGBTQ+ community.’
‘Seventy percent of the WNBA is black. A third of the players are in the LGBTQ+ community, and we have to do something about that stigma in this country. I think people have a problem with basketball-playing women that are lesbians. Who cares? They are great athletes.’
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin responded by saying she became a fan of the WNBA because Clark is ‘so fun to watch’ – noting that it had nothing to .
While co-host Whoopi Goldberg argued that she and Hostin have been trying to advocate for the WNBA for years, the former also pushed back on Hill’s comments.
‘To have her reduced that way bothered me a lot because this is her record,’ Goldberg said, pointing to her note card.
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Source: New York Post
