“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin revealed on the show’s “Behind the Table” podcast (via Entertainment Weekly ) that Cynthia Erivo called her with concerns about Hostin’s viral episode discussing the Cornell 7 sexual assault cases. The ‘Bad’ Oscar nominee explained to Hostin why his remarks received backlash.
Hostin was accused of defending the seven accused men at the center of the case last week when he told viewers it was “important to understand why the prosecutor did not file charges against them” in 2024. He went on to explain the law without initially acknowledging his disagreement with it, sparking outrage online.
“She consented to other boys and consented to other boys withdrawing ketamine from her body, and under New York law, voluntary intoxication or drug use that merely impairs judgment does not constitute a legal inability to consent to sexual activity,” Hostin wrote last week of the accuser, a woman named Jane Doe, in her legal opinion. “This means that if you voluntarily take drugs, if you voluntarily drink alcohol, you can agree to have a threesome – which in his testimony he agreed to have two separate threesomes.”
While discussing the Cornell 7 case on “The View,” Hostin admitted on the “Behind the Table” podcast that he was “leading the law” because “everyone else was talking emotionally about it,” adding: “I needed, I felt, to bring us back to this New York law that was really terrible and needed to be changed.”
The host soon received a call from Cynthia Erivo, who was working on a new project in Paris. “He called me and said, ‘Sister, I know you and I know your heart and your life is about protecting women and children. But the clip I saw does not reflect who you are,'” Hostin said of Erivo’s message. “Then he said, ‘I’m an outspoken person, and you’re an outspoken person. That’s why we get along so well, because when we talk to each other, we bring out the BS. He said he needs to learn to give people his opinion in a way that they can understand, rather than being blunt.”
Hostin said Erivo shared this advice: “Instead of following the law, I need to lead with empathy so that people can get the message about the law. So the next time we talk about this, I lead this so people can understand the fact that if you get voluntarily drunk in New York, you have to be completely blacked out, affirmatively say no, or be involuntarily drugged to prove sexual assault.”
“I was accused of defending these young men and shaming the victims, which is something I would never do since I have spent most of my career prosecuting sex crimes,” Hostin added. “So I was kind of struck by the way people received the information that I was giving, which was that ultimately the law in New York had to be changed because the bar was so high. In New York, when someone is voluntarily intoxicated to prove sexual assault, that’s already beyond a reasonable doubt, and then if you add that to that, the burden becomes so much higher. It’s almost impossible to prove sexual assault.”
The Cornell 7 is the name given online to seven male students accused of drugging and gang-raping their female classmate (Jane Doe) at Cornell University in October 2024. The woman is now suing her alleged attackers, as well as their fraternity, Cornell University, her former sorority and more. According to the woman’s attorney, Cornell’s initial investigation into the alleged crime resulted in the deportation of only two of the defendants. Other students were subjected to less severe sanctions, such as temporary suspensions, workshops or essay writing assignments.
The case attracted great attention in Hollywood. Florence Pugh went viral on Instagram for encouraging men to speak up and “lead the conversation about how we change the tolerance and complicity of this behavior.” This is truly the moment when we need our men to be as terrified and sick as we are.
Following Pugh’s post, other celebrities such as Mariska Hargitay, Josh Gad, Hudson Williams and more also took to social media to condemn the Cornell 7. “Heated Rivalry” star Williams shared a photo of the seven accused men on his Instagram story and wrote, “Arrest them.” “Fuck them too, fuck Cornell too!”