'The View' Co-Host Sara Haines Sparks Backlash After Controversial 2017 Race Remarks Resurface: 'She's Been Problematic'
Sara Haines was labeled 'problematic' over her suggestions that she has a voice in Black issues.
Nov. 9 2026, Published 4:05 p.m. ET
The View co-host Sara Haines is getting slammed after a controversial 2017 clip from the show resurfaced, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Haines, 49, aired her exasperation over feeling that she was not allowed to "chime in intellectually" on such topics as Black Lives Matter, leading critics today to label her comments "problematic."
Sara Haines Claimed She Was an 'Ally' to the Black Community
Sara Haines suggested she should be able to speak about issues affecting the Black community.
In the resurfaced clip, Haines remarked, "I’m saying, in this instance, I think the message or the strategy of this is not the right move. If I just disagree on the slightest bit or chime in, people are like, ‘You don’t understand, you’re white,’ and they excuse you intellectually."
“Even though anyone that’s white talking about those things can disclaim, 'I’ve never walked in these shoes,' I do have a brain, and I’m an ally, I want to talk about it," she noted about topics affecting the Black community.
Co-host Joy Behar disagreed, telling her colleague, "You’re more disagreed with, and your opinions now don’t count. It’s not quite the same as discrimination."
Sara Haines' Comments Didn't Fly With Co-Panelists
Both Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg pushed back at Sara Haines' race comments.
Haines stood her ground, exclaiming, "Discrimination is just an unjust treatment based on a difference in race, age, s--. In that situation I’m describing, I am being discriminated (against).”
She clarified that she was "not saying that I feel the pain every day of this," but that she found it "frustrating when I’m trying to join a conversation as an ally, and I can’t critique anything because I’m white."
Later in the debate, moderator Whoopi Goldberg, the only Black panelist, snarked, "Now maybe white folks will understand how we feel when people generalize about us."
'She's Been Problematic'
Sara Haines was called out over her resurfaced comments.
The organization Whiteness Studies shared the clip to Instagram, along with the caption, "The category is books Sara Haines of The View should buy and read. We recommend Do the Work: A Guide to Understanding Power and Creating Change, co-authored by Roxane Gay. Sincerely, The BLACK-Owned Online Bookstore."
One commenter wrote, "It’s like men explaining the suffragette movement to women and wanting to chime in."
A second huffed, "If you claim to be an ally, why are you critiquing... you're supposed to listen and learn. Not make it about your feelings."
On X, a third user wrote about Haines' comments, "Yup, she's been problematic."
A fourth agreed, claiming, "Yeah. The 'I'm an ally' therefore my voice needs to be heard over yours because F your black feelings is extremely problematic. She's the moderate white MLK warned us about."
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Sara Haines Walks a Moderate Line on 'The View'
Sara Haines claims she's an Independent and not politically aligned with either party.
So far, Haines hasn't responded publicly to the resurfacing of her controversial comments.
Haines has frequently criticized President Donald Trump on The View, but has also blasted the "jersey-wearing" polarization of both parties, praising Joe Biden's former Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, in June 2025 for coming out as an Independent.
"I think it's a more honest political take," she said. "I feel like maybe I'm biased as an independent, that everyone should be independent, but the largest group of voters we have are independents, and I think it's because our system is so simplistic by having two parties and assuming anyone fits in those boxes at all."
Haines added, "I think it's time for politicians to sell themselves completely to someone consuming what they have to offer, and not worrying about jersey-wearing partisan politics and tribalism"
