The View’s Sunny Hostin revealed that Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo reached out privately after watching her discuss the alleged Cornell gang rapists.
“She called me and said, ‘Sis, I know you, and I know your heart, and I know your life’s work has been about protecting women and children. But the clip that I saw doesn’t reflect who you are,’” Hostin, 57, shared on the Monday, October 5, episode of the “Behind the Table” podcast. “She then said, ‘I’m a blunt person and you are a blunt person.’ That’s why we get along so well, because we cut the BS out when we talk to each other. She said she’s had to learn to give people her opinion in a way that they can receive it rather than just be blunt.”
After an honest conversation with her longtime sorority sister and friend, Hostin came to the realization that instead of leading with the law, “I need to lead with empathy so that people can receive the message about the law.”
“That’s why the next time we talked about [the case], I led with that,” Hostin explained. “So that people would be able to receive the facts that, in New York, if you’re voluntarily intoxicated, you’d have to be completely passed out, affirmatively say no or you would have to be drugged involuntarily to prove sexual assault.”
In recent days, The View has been discussing the highly publicized case involving a group of Cornell University fraternity members who were accused of gang raping a fellow student in 2024.
When the cohosts first explored the case during “Hot Topics” on September 29, Hostin explained why Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten didn’t bring charges to the group of fraternity brothers.
“I think people are reporting this story inaccurately. I think they’re reporting it unfairly,” she said at the time. “While this is something that we have to take very seriously, there is no way, according to her statement in 2024, that any prosecutor would’ve brought forth a case.”
Two days later, Hostin made it clear that this is a “morally repugnant case,” which could have had different results if the alleged crime took place in another state.
“In D.C., this case would have gone to trial,” she claimed. “I would have prosecuted this case like I prosecuted a lot of sex crimes. The problem is the New York law.”
In her latest podcast chat with The View’s executive producer Brian Teta, Hostin said she was “fascinated” by the way some viewers received the information that she gave during “Hot Topics.”
“I see things, when it comes to the law, as black and white. I apply the facts as I know them and I apply them to the law,” she said. “When I first talked about this case on the panel, I led with the law because everyone else had spoken emotionally about it and I felt I needed to bring us back to this New York law which is really terrible and needs to be changed.”
No arrests have been made in connection with the case, which the local district attorney has said he is reopening in light of a new civil suit filed by Jane Doe and leaked messages from a Snapchat group message advertising “free p****” at the time of the alleged assault.
Attorneys representing the named fraternity members have vigorously denied the claims in the lawsuit.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
