He had a microphone, a national audience, and the White House lawn behind him. He chose to use that moment to spread a false conspiracy theory about Michelle Obama.
During UFC Freedom 250 — a fight card staged on the South Lawn of the White House Sunday night — heavyweight Josh Hokit capped his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan by shouting a years-old, false conspiracy theory targeting the former First Lady.
"Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?" he said. The crowd reacted with a mix of laughter and groans. Rogan said nothing in response, signing off flatly: "Ladies and gentlemen, Josh Hokit."
It wasn't the first time. Hokit made the same false claim at the close of a post-match interview in January 2025. This time, he said it on the White House lawn, on a Paramount+ broadcast, with the president of the United States seated ringside — a man who has his own long and documented history of targeting the Obamas.
Earlier this year, Trump posted a video on Truth Social depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The White House initially defended it as "an internet meme" before taking it down after backlash. Trump later told reporters he "of course" condemns racist content — without apologizing.
On Monday (June 15), Trump posted on Truth Social to congratulate the UFC fighters for their "speed and power." He did not mention Hokit's comments about Michelle Obama.
UFC CEO Dana White, however, did address them. "I understand that the Obamas are public figures but I'm completely against saying nasty and false things about people's families," White said in a statement to TIME. “Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.”
As for the actual fights, American underdog Justin Gaethje, 37, pulled off a major upset in the main event, defeating lightweight champion Ilia Topuria to claim the title in what Rogan called "one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport." After his win, Gaethje did a backflip off the top of the cage before shaking hands with Trump.
The event wasn't without additional controversy. Middleweight champion Sean Strickland was removed by authorities from a UFC fan festival connected to the card. And screenshots attributed to UFC commentator Daniel Cormier — allegedly showing text messages from Eric Trump asking whether any fights were rigged — briefly went viral before being deleted.
Eric Trump denied the texts, calling them "completely fake" and "AI generated."
Whether Cormier posted and deleted them himself or his account was hacked remains unclear.
Gaethje dedicated his win to military service members. Hokit used his moment to spread hate and lie about a Black woman on the White House lawn.
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