The View star Sunny Hostin's bizarre dig at Gloria Gaynor after I Will Survive singer said she's not a feminist
The View's Sunny Hostin scolded Gloria Gaynor after the 81 year-old I Will Survive singer said she doesn't consider herself a feminist.
'I don't know why equality is suddenly a bad thing,' Hostin, 56, sniffed during a discussion on Tuesday's show about Gaynor's recent rebuff of the 'feminist' label many have bestowed on her without consent.
'I don't know why diversity and inclusion and equality is such a bad thing,' Hostin continued, questioning Gaynor's hesitance to embrace the term.
Gaynor - whose 1978 hit is one of the famous female and gay empowerment anthems in history - had told Metro.co.uk the characterization comes without her blessing.
She also said she rejects the label despite it being 'dangerous' to do so - leading the ladies to rush to the ideology's defense.
Sara Haines, a former correspondent for both GMA and Today, patronizingly suggested the singer was simply mistaken, and that she is a feminist without even realizing it.
Whoopi Goldberg, 69, jumpstarted the debate by asking her co-hosts why Gaynor, a black woman from New Jersey, had such a reaction.
'Because I think the feminist movement has changed over the decades, as to who the icons were, what the point and the mission was,' Haines, 47, sought to explain.
'But ultimately, feminism is just equality for women to have the same opportunities,' she continued.
'So, I think she really deeply is a feminist.'
The remainder of the segment saw Haines - who is 34 years Gaynors' junior - and the rest of the cast split hairs over feminism's true meaning.
Haines insisted many falsely assume the word 'means you hate men.'
She also argued it's fine to be a feminist and admire the opposite sex - a point she suggested Gaynor had missed.
Hostin, in a more full-throated dig, said much of the same.
'The bottom line is, you can be someone that supports women having equal rights, and black people having equal rights, and people that are disabled having equal rights, and people in the LGBTQ+ community having equal rights, and still love a man!'
'They don't have to be zero-sum issues,' Haines added at another point. 'To have equality for women does nothing to men.'
A day before, Gaynor - speaking remotely from her home - said she was 'not really' a feminist, adding in what appeared to be an explanation, 'I love men.'
'I grew up with five brothers, and I love men.' she said, after being asked what the most common misconception about her was.
'The biggest misconception about me? Hmm. It may be dangerous to say this, but… that I'm a feminist,' she said.
'People say it to me, 'And since you're a feminist…' Erm, no. Not really. I love men.'
Merriam-Webster defines feminism as a 'belief in and advocacy of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes expressed especially through organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests.'
Some critics have said the movement - particularly in the US - has ceased to be a matter of politics and more rooted in personal identity.
Gaynor - who was not allowed to sing with an all-male group comprised of her brother while growing up in Newark - appeared to push back against the latter.
She married manager Linwood Simon in 1979 before divorcing in 2005. According to Gaynor, she always wanted children, but her ex-husband never desired any.
He has since maintained a low profile and has stayed out of the spotlight - and music industry - for several years.
Gaynor, meanwhile, still performs today.
Her songs - many of them chart-topping hits - are still revered as well, featured in an array of films, TV, and other forms of media.
While I Will Survive remains her biggest hit, Gloria is one of the few singers to have another iconic anthem - 1984's I Am What I Am.
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