Sunny Hostin is shocking her The View co-hosts once again by coming out in defense of billionaire Elon Musk.
As the Decider reports, the cast talked about whether Musk deserved the accolade of being named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. While a lot of the panel felt that Musk is an opportunistic figure, Hostin said she actually sees him in a good light.
“I know he’s deeply unpopular around the world, but if you think about the work he has done, he’s a different type of gazillionaire,” she said. “He has sort of reshaped life on this planet in terms of climate change, not only for his work in space, but also for his work on electric cars.” She also said that Musk has given about $100 million to climate change initiatives and projects.
“When you think about those good things that he’s done, I think that’s really important,” she continued. “I think that’s very different from some of the other billionaires in the space. Because if we think that climate change is the greatest existential threat that we’re facing, he’s addressing that. So yes, not paying taxes, but doing [that]…I think he’s saving the world.”
Sara Haines chimed in and said that while Musk might be doing some good, she wasn't happy with how much wealth he has accrued, and his unwillingness to pay taxes.
“[His net worth] is $290 billion. For generations, your family could never spend that money, and there are people that can’t eat today. Give some to people, and pay your taxes,” she said.
Joy Behar also agreed, saying how Musk is a “vocal opponent” of tax increases on America’s wealthy, “including government involvement at all in his financial assets.”
“Are you American or are you some kind of space cadet?” said Behar. “Go back to Mars.”
Even though Hostin is usually in agreement with Behar and Whoopi Goldberg, there are times when she expresses opinions that go against the other two, including when she recently admitted that she thought overweight singers lost their vocal ability once they lost weight. Goldberg shut down her opinion, saying that people lose their voices for different reasons, like nodes on their vocal cords, not for losing weight.
Watch a clip below:
The View airs weekdays on ABC.