‘The View’: Ana Navarro Standing up Against Racists Leads to Awkward Exchange With Sara Haines

Ana Navarro found herself in another awkward exchange on The View. According to The Sun, the exchange took place between Navarro and her co-host, Sara Haines, while they were talking to Rita Wilson about the movie, A Man Called Otto, which stars her husband, Tom Hanks. Amidst their chat about the film, Navarro appeared to snap at Haines as she spoke about her identity. 

In A Man Called Otto, Hanks portrays a man who struggles to understand and empathize with his neighbors. Wilson described how the story hits close to home, as her parents are first-generation Americans who speak with accents just like Hanks’ character. Navarro could also relate, as she quipped, “Try having an accent and being on TV every day.” Wilson responded, “Well thank God you are! Because you’re gonna be changing things when people understand that just because you have an accent, it doesn’t mean that you’re a lesser person.”

Navarro then explained how she has, unfortunately, dealt with racism in this country, saying that she has been told to “go back to Mexico” because “really ignorant people don’t realize there’s more than one country in Latin America.” This prompted the audience to break out into applause. Over the cheers, Haines added, “And she’s Nicaraguan!” Navarro quickly added, “Actually, I’m American, and they’re stuck with me.” The crowd once again broke into applause and Haines apologized before they moved on. 

This isn’t the only awkward moment that Navarro’s had on The View recently. On Friday’s episode of the program, she had a tense exchange with Joy Behar regarding her birthday celebrations. During the episode, Navarro explained how she celebrated her birthday on Dec. 28 when The View was on holiday break. She first went to a drag brunch in Miami and then celebrated with her friend, Gloria Estefan, the following day, saying that they “drank and sang and partied” at home “like it was 1999.” Behar asked her, “How many margaritas?” When Navarro didn’t answer, Haines said, “A lot of margaritas!” Behar then asked the question again, but Navarro didn’t seem to appreciate her pressing the matter. 

“Many,” Navarro said. “I don’t like the judgmental tone.” Behar replied, “I’m not judging. I was just asking because I know you love a margarita.” Navarro shot back, “Yeah, and a tequila, and a rose.” The rest of the panel laughed off the awkward moment and the moved on to the next subject, effectively putting the matter to rest.