Sunny Hostin Chides Her Co-Hosts for Interrupting Her: 'Can I Chat on This Show?'

After a week of midterm election drama, the women of The View are definitely ready for the weekend. On Friday morning, Sunny Hostin became frustrated with her co-hosts' repeated interruptions and chided them for not allowing her to make her point about former First Lady Michelle Obama. "Can I finish?" she asked. "Can I chat on this show?"

Friday's moment of tension came during a bizarre discussion about people reversing cosmetic procedures that attempted to shoehorn in Michelle Obama's admitted insecurities. The ladies largely ignored the cosmetic procedures angle in favor of discussing Obama, and they agreed that by opening up about her insecurities, she's reminding other women that they're not alone.

"When you think about Michelle Obama, in particular, I think she was one of the most vilified first ladies in history," said Hostin.

But before she could continue, Joy Behar chimed in, saying, "No. Eleanor Roosevelt has that distinction."

When Hostin insisted Obama "was vilified for her looks," Behar — and Sara Haines, who backed her up — failed to understand the subtext of her remark and doubled down. "Eleanor Roosevelt — her looks and her politics," said Behar, as both Haines and Hostin continued to speak over her from elsewhere on the panel.

DOES SELF-CONFIDENCE GROW WITH AGE? After Michelle Obama opened up about her body image issues and shared how she’s focusing on the positives, #TheView co-hosts discuss. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/Cr9lyIPO4i

— The View (@TheView) November 11, 2022

"Can I finish?" asked Hostin, while Ana Navarro reminded their white co-hosts that there was "a racial component" to the criticism Obama received. "Can I chat? Can I chat on this show?"

"There was a racial component, which is why it makes it a little bit more insidious," continued Hostin, before listing off some of the racist, misogynist, and homophobic remarks made about the former first lady during Barack Obama's time in office. "I don't know any other first lady that went through that. And I think a lot of it, of course, was racism."

"And so when you're faced with something like that, as a Princeton and Harvard-educated woman who's worked on her brain, who's worked on her skill set, and who is beloved, I think that takes a hit on your self esteem," added Hostin. "Because who determines what 'American beauty' is? I'm so sick of this so-called 'American beauty' standard! She's a beautiful woman!"

Call it a Behar foot-in-mouth moment or just an instance of her being dazed by her love of World War II history, but either way: Hostin is absolutely right in this scenario.

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.