UFC Fighter Who Called Michelle Obama a Man Posts ‘Apology’ That Seems to Be More Trolling

Alex Brandon/AP photo

UFC fighter Josh Hokit posted on his Instagram account what appeared at first glance to be an apology for comments he made calling former First Lady Michelle Obama a man, but it seems like it might in fact be more trolling.

The controversy arose from the moments just after Hokit won his match Sunday evening at the “UFC Freedom 250” event held on the White House South Lawn on the same day as President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

After the heavyweight fighter won via TKO, leaving his undefeated UFC career intact, he had a triumphant interview with podcaster Joe Rogan.

“And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?” Hokit yelled as a grinning Rogan held the microphone and the crowd offered a mixture of cheers and boos.

Hokit got a lot of swift and loud condemnation, including from UFC President Dana White, who emphasized he supported free speech, “but I hate that kind of nonsense,” and was “completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families.”

Barstool’s Dave Portnoy blasted Hokit for being among the “idiots” and “lunatics” who give UFC a bad name, and called on Trump to denounce what he’d said — but thus far, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung just dodged the question when asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper, only offering praise for Hokit’s prowess in the octagon.

Fox News host Greg Gutfeld defended Hokit’s comments by downplaying it as the fighter just being a “troll,” and added that the right enjoyed it when the left was “upset.”

On Thursday, Hokit shared an image he posted as a Story on his Instagram account.

Such posts will usually expire after 24 hours, but a screenshot is below.

Screenshot via Instagram.

The image showed Hokit and Obama smiling at each other and a caption that said, “I spoke with former first lady Michelle Obama to apologize for my distasteful comments following my win. I have pledged $50,000 of my earnings to the Obama Foundation. I will be an active spokesman for Black Women in America.”

The post originally came from the Show Me The Money podcast, an account that literally says “Don’t take us too seriously” in the bio. (The @showmethemoneypod username can be seen in the lower left corner of the above screenshot and the live version of the Story includes a link to the post.

A Community Note on this post called it “patently false,” adding that Hokit has “made no apology for his inflammatory and disgusting comments on Michelle Obama.”

“In fact he doubled down,” the Note added.

Screenshot via Instagram.

Looking closer at the post on Hokit’s account, he made one small addition: a caption at the top that simply said, “Cap.”

According to the Urban Dictionary and some very helpful Gen Z friends I consulted for this story, “cap” can be used to mean “a lie or false statement.” Another definition the online slang compilation offers is “lying for no reason” and “like actually why would you say this.”

The term has perhaps more frequently been used in the form of “no cap,” as in “no lie,” “I’m telling the truth.”

Hokit does not appear to have made any other posts on his account referencing the controversy, but analyzed in context, sharing a post already marked as false from a humor podcast with “Cap” as the caption does strongly suggest he is unrepentant about his Michelle Obama comments and no apology should be expected anytime soon, if ever.

(UFC President Dana White’s opinion on this notwithstanding.)

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!