On The View, Sunny Hostin said she believes “all the allegations are true” about Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, weighing claims involving explicit messages sent to other women while married, racist remarks, homophobic slurs, and a decade-spanning
Sunny Hostin didn’t soften her tone as Graham Platner’s campaign unraveled on The View.
She told viewers she felt “conflicted,” but added that Platner’s documented behavior left her with serious doubts about his fitness for office. Hostin said she believes “all the allegations are true,” pointing to claims of extramarital messages disclosed by Platner’s wife.
“Why would she lie about that?” Hostin said, then moved through the list of accusations that have followed Platner into the spotlight: allegations that he made racist remarks about African Americans, used homophobic slurs, and kept a N*** tattoo for two decades before covering it up.
For Hostin, the argument landed on character as much as politics. “He’s a liar, a racist, an antisemite, he’s a homophobe,” she said, concluding that “character does matter.”
Yet Hostin also acknowledged what’s at stake for Democrats looking to unseat Sen. Susan Collins. Without a balance of power in Congress, she said, the country is in “grave, grave peril.”
Her co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin—speaking from a Republican perspective—wasn’t convinced the political math justifies backing Platner at all. “To be honest. his s** is the least of my concern. ” Griffin said. before laying out her case that no political objective makes the controversies worth tolerating.
Griffin added, “As a Republican who sadly watched the quality of candidates we’ve chosen to put in office or to run diminish over the last decade, I will tell you it’s not worth it. It’s not worth compromising your morals and values and integrity.”
When Hostin tied the conversation to Democratic hopes for the Maine seat, Griffin pushed back hard. “There are other paths, and they don’t have to go through Maine. You need four seats. Look at Alaska, Iowa, look at Texas. Don’t die on the hill of a guy who is going to be a headache for years to come.”.
The latest flare-up traces back to what Platner’s wife said during a 2025 vetting process. Amy Gertner disclosed that she found explicit messages he sent to other women via an app nicknamed “Predator’s Paradise.”
In a campaign video, Gertner said, “I just really wanted to make sure that everyone knows that Graham and I have a great marriage,” adding that “being married is hard.”
The spotlight tightened further after the New York Times reported that Gertner flagged sexually explicit texts to his campaign. Gertner also put out a statement saying it was shameful that the media was sharing “gossip” about something she said she first brought to light.
Hostin addressed the matter directly, saying, “They asked Cory Booker how he felt about this because, I think all the allegations are true. The s** with other women while married is definitely true because his wife…disclosed it. Why would she lie about that? So, that part is true.”
Booker said he had “concerns,” and that Platner had “questions to answer.” Platner, for his part, called the reports “journalistic malpractice,” while acknowledging that “Amy and I went through something hard — because of me.”
Before the explicit-text allegations dominated the cycle, Platner was already facing pressure over a Totenkopf tattoo on his chest, a symbol associated with the N****.
Platner said he got the tattoo during a drunken night in Croatia in 2007 and claimed he did not understand its meaning at the time. Hostin rejected that explanation, telling viewers, “The fact that he had that tattoo for 20 years and ‘didn’t know what it was’ is a lie.”
Other scrutiny focused on when the tattoo was addressed publicly. Michael Smerconish noted that Platner did not cover the tattoo until October 2025—18 years after getting it—and only after it became a political liability.
The controversy also reached the endorsement stage. A post shared on June 1, 2026 said Sen. Bernie Sanders told the person asking about the situation that he is “certainly not” rethinking his endorsement of Graham Platner after news that Platner sent sexually explicit text messages to women.
Sanders’ remarks were framed alongside the detail that his understanding is Platner’s wife, Amy, “who I’ve met,” indicated they love each other—though the discussion was also directed toward what remains to be examined in the candidacy.
Even with the arguments over tone and priorities, the debate on-air kept circling back to the same clash: whether voters should weigh the Maine race through tactical urgency or through questions of personal conduct—one that Hostin said she can’t look past.
Sunny Hostin Graham Platner The View Alyssa Farah Griffin Susan Collins Maine Senate race Bernie Sanders Amy Gertner Predator’s Paradise app Cory Booker Totenkopf tattoo