south carolina politician Nikki Haley attacked US television channel Sunny Hostin for being “racist” regarding its name. The View host made some controversial comments about Haley on the September 20 edition. This happened during a talk about possible presidential candidates for the 2024 election against incumbent US President Joe Biden. After Hostin called her a “chameleon,” Alyssa Farah Griffin suggested Nikki Haley as a potential candidate, saying she’d been an “extremely prolific governor in South Carolina.”
Hostin mocked Haley and asked her what her real name was. The presenter, who is actually called Asunción Cummings, seemed to suggest that the former UN ambassador withheld her true identity to earn Republican support. After Griffin said that many people in the United States don’t use their real names or that the names were given to them at birth, Hostin replied:
“I believe this would be different if she tended to become someone of color.” Some of us may be chameleons, refusing to accept our ethnicity so we can pass, so we don’t have to pass…’
Shortly after Sunny Hostin’s words went viral, Nikki Haley took to Twitter to scold her and label her as a “racist.” Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley is the full name of Nikki Haley. She was born in South Carolina on January 20, 1972 to Indian Punjabi Sikh parents Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa. In 1996, Nikki married Michael Haley.
Everything you need to know about Sunny Hostin
Sunny Hostin was born Asunción Cummings on October 20, 1968. She is the daughter of African American William Cummings and Puerto Rican Rosa Beza. Hostin lived in New York City and attended the Dominican Academy, a girls-only institution. She then attended Binghamton University, where she earned a degree in communications. Sunny Hostin changed her name on the recommendation of former Court TV anchor Nancy Grace, according to USA Today. Grace apparently couldn’t pronounce Hostin’s name and said no one would remember her. This prompted Hostin to change her name, which she regrets because it doesn’t reflect her Latino roots.
She stated:
“I wish I could go back in time and change my mind.” If I hadn’t changed it, people might have mistakenly identified me as Afro Latina. It’s such an important part of who I am. My family doesn’t like the nickname Sunny. My grandmother was especially furious.”
During her recent appearance on The View, Sunny’s co-host Sara Haines said she too did not use her real name after the latter scolded Nikki Haley for doing the same.
She justified herself by saying:
“Due to our country’s under-education, most Americans can’t pronounce Asunción.” But, as Alyssa points out, individuals are drawn to different names for different reasons.”
Sunny Hostin has not yet responded to Nikki Haley’s tweet.
