Cynthia Erivo privately spoke to Sunny Hostin over her viral comments about the Cornell University sexual assault allegations, telling the former federal prosecutor that the clip circulating online did not reflect the person she knew. Hostin said the Wicked star called her from Paris after seeing part of the discussion and told her: 'Sis, I know you and I know your heart and I know your life's work has been about protecting women and children. But the clip that I saw doesn't reflect who you are.'
Hostin revealed the conversation on Monday, 5 October, during The View: Behind the Table podcast, days after facing backlash over her legal analysis of the case on The View. Hostin said Erivo advised her to lead with empathy before explaining the law so viewers could better receive the point she was trying to make.
Cynthia Erivo Tells Hostin To Lead With Empathy
Hostin said Erivo had only seen the viral clip when she reached out, but the two women know each other personally through Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She recalled Erivo saying they were both blunt people and that she had learned to give people her opinion 'in a way that they can receive it' rather than simply delivering it bluntly.
Hostin said the conversation changed how she approached the story when it returned to The View. Summarising Erivo's advice, she said: 'Instead of leading with the law, I need to lead with empathy so that people can receive the law, the message about the law.'
Why Sunny Hostin's Cornell Comments Went Viral
The backlash followed Hostin's 29 September discussion of allegations made by a former Cornell student identified in court filings as Jane Doe. Hostin argued that the initial decision not to bring criminal charges had to be understood against New York's sexual offence laws, particularly their treatment of incapacity linked to intoxication.
Critics online accused Hostin of victim-blaming and of appearing to defend the seven men named in Doe's civil lawsuit, claims Hostin rejected. When she revisited the case on Thursday, 1 October, Hostin said she would have prosecuted it under the laws she worked with in Washington, D.C., adding: 'The problem is the New York law.'
New York law does not treat voluntary intoxication alone as 'mental incapacitation' for the purpose of its criminal sex-offence provisions, although lack of consent can also be established through other legal grounds depending on the alleged conduct. Hostin called the case 'morally repugnant' and 'grotesque' while arguing that the state's current law can make cases involving voluntary intoxication particularly difficult to prosecute.
Cornell Case Returns to Criminal Investigation
Doe filed a civil lawsuit in September accusing seven men who were Cornell students at the time and other defendants of wrongdoing connected to an alleged sexual assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. The allegations have not been proven in court, lawyers for several of the accused have publicly denied them, and no criminal charges have been filed as of Wednesday, 7 October.
The criminal investigation has since moved to the New York Attorney General's Office after Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. Cornell has also appointed former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates to lead an independent review of how the university prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault and related misconduct.
Erivo's intervention ultimately became part of Hostin's own explanation for why her message had landed so badly online. Rather than describing the call as a rupture between friends, Hostin presented it as direct advice from someone who knew her well and believed the viral clip failed to capture both her intentions and the empathy she wanted to bring to the subject.
