The View host forced to apologize on-air over poor taste Diddy joke

Daily Mail​

04-06-2025

The View co-host Sara Haines was forced to apologize live on-air after a joke about Sean ' Diddy ' Combs drew audible groans from the studio audience.
The segment began with a discussion about whether President Donald Trump, 78, might consider pardoning Combs, 55, who is currently facing serious charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, 35, noted that rapper 50 Cent - who has long criticized Combs - has taken it upon himself to try and dissuade Trump from granting a pardon, should the embattled music mogul be convicted.
'50 Cent has had a bit of a relationship with Trump… He came out and said he was going to talk to Trump about why he should not pardon Diddy, because he's been all on Diddy's things for years and been calling him out for it,' Griffin explained on the show.
Haines, 47, interjected with a quip: 'Everyone's been on Diddy's things…' before trailing off.
Though her incomplete remark drew a laugh from one of her co-hosts, it also sparked groans from the audience.
Recognizing the misstep, Haines quickly apologized, whispering 'sorry' under her breath so quietly it went largely unnoticed by the rest of the panel.
Going on without a hitch, the conversation then shifted to a broader discussion about Trump's controversial history of pardoning rappers.
Co-host Sunny Hostin, 56, chimed in criticizing the idea of pardoning Combs, calling it 'shameful' in light of the serious nature of the allegations.
'I've been in that courtroom almost every single day, and we're hearing about women who were physically abused, who were sexually abused, who were mentally and emotionally abused,' Hostin said.
'And the thought that [Trump] would just consider it - and he himself has been found civilly liable for sexual abuse - the fact that he would be so dismissive of these charges is really something that is shameful. It's just shameful.'
Joy Behar, 82, attempted to inject some levity, joking, 'Trump would pardon Jack the Ripper if he was alive.'
Haines' latest controversy adds to a string of recent criticisms the daytime talk show host has faced.
Just days earlier, during a May 28 episode, she came under fire for urging critics of Trump to 'pick your battles' during a discussion about his controversial pardons of reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley.
The Chrisley Knows Best couple was found guilty in 2022 of federal charges including tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud community banks. Todd was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Julie received a seven-year sentence. Both sentences have since been reduced.
On the show, co-host Ana Navarro, 53, warned against normalizing Trump's actions, saying, 'We have to not normalize this and allow it to continue to happen. There's a For Sale sign on the lawn of the White House.'
She claimed that Trump's pardons of the Chrisley's show that 'if you are a supporter, if you are a donor, then you can buy pardons.'
Haines disagreed.
'Everyone reacts to everything saying, "Don't normalize this," whenever Trump does something outrageous,' she said. 'There's a strategy to picking your battles.'
Her comments sparked backlash from some viewers, who felt she was downplaying the seriousness of Trump's behavior.
During a May 28 episode, Haines came under fire for urging critics of Trump to 'pick your battles' during a discussion about his controversial pardons of reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Her comments sparked backlash from some viewers, who felt she was downplaying the seriousness of Trump's behavior
To support her position, Haines referenced what she described as 'proverbs,' telling the audience: 'The man who chases two rabbits catches neither,' and 'When you yell at everything, nobody hears anything.'
'There's a strategy to not jumping every time he does something,' she argued, adding that Trump pardoning his supporters is 'not surprising.'
Still, Haines was careful to clarify that she was not excusing Trump's actions.
'I'm more upset about the Qatari jet, the January 6th pardons - which were violent criminals - the deportations without due process, the attacks on federal institutions with no cause,' she said. 'Those, to me, are fundamentally way more problematic.'
When she finished, co-host Joy Behar dryly remarked, 'That's a lot of rabbits you listed.'
Some speculate that Haines' recent tone may reflect behind-the-scenes pressure.