Sunny Hostin Says Her ‘View’ Co-Hosts Are Like ‘Family’ Who ‘Bicker’ As She Promotes Moving Memoir

In her book ‘I Am These Truths’ Sunny reveals how her unique journey sparked her passion to become one of the leading voices on the daytime hit show.

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They may fight like cat and dog when The View cameras are rolling, but Sunny Hostin says that she and her co-hosts actually get on well in real life. In fact, the 52-year-old mom-of-two likens her relationship with her colleagues to a “family” who “bicker” but can respectfully disagree.

“People love to speculate, but we are just like any other family,” she tells HollywoodLife, while promoting her memoir, I Am These Truths. “We work together, and we are talking about things on the show that people aren’t even supposed to talk about politely behind closed doors. We’re discussing these hot button issues passionately, in front of 3 million people, every day. We’re all really opinionated and passionate about different things, but any one of us will tell you that we are, at the core, friends and colleagues.”

Wondering how the ladies of The View get along off-camera is valid given how heated things get on-set. Along with the show’s moderator Whoopi Goldberg and fellow co-host Joy Behar, Sunny is fairly liberal. While Sara Haines is an independent, both Ana Navarro and Meghan McCain are Republicans.

None of these women shy away from sharing their opinions. Eye-rolling and full-on shouting matches have happened at the table and the show consistently makes headlines when the co-hosts clash. For example, in December 2019, Whoopi snapped at Meghan by saying, “Girl, please stop talking.”

Over on Twitter, fans and journalists alike try to pit Sunny against Meghan, especially after the two get into heated debates. (For example, in November 2019 after Hostin and McCain clashed over President Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings, Meghan turned off her Instagram comments to silence the “abuse and threats” she said she was getting.)

But, according to Sunny, the co-hosts don’t hold grudges. “We may bicker, but we leave everything on the table, and have nothing but respect for one another both on and off-screen,” she says.

Sunny’s perspective and voice are essential on a show that aims to represent different points of view. She’s the Afro-Latina daughter of working-class teenage parents. (Her mom is Puerto Rican and her dad is African-American.) In her memoir she recounts the struggles and sacrifices that her family made to get her into a good Catholic school. It charts the New Yorker’s journey from the South Bronx, highlights her work as a federal prosecutor and follows a journalism career that took her from Court TV to ABC’s The View.

I Am These Truths is like a guidebook showing how, with grit and determination, you can fulfill your career goals, even when others expect you to fail. It explains why Sunny makes such compelling viewing. Armed with facts and knowledge of the law, she does her research and frequently backs up her arguments with receipts. She brings her unique experiences to the table at The View every single day. She advises young journalists of color starting out in their career to do the same.

“My advice for aspiring journalists is simple,” she says. “Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves and stand up for what you believe in. Believe in yourself, because each of you brings a unique and different perspective to every conversation. You could be the voice that changes the world.”

Sunny’s book, I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice and Living Between Worlds, is published by HarperOne. It’s available in English and Spanish.