The View's Ana Navarro Incites Backlash Over Her Opinion Of Brittney Griner's Prison Release

Brittney Griner, the WNBA player detained in Russia for 10 months after being caught with cannabis oil, was released into U.S. custody on December 8, 2022. Griner's release came as the result of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia, per CNN. The U.S. released Viktor Bout — a Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death" — in exchange for Griner's freedom, per Boston. Griner's release was shocking to most, given Russia's handling of her case. In August, the Russian government sentenced Griner to nine years in prison, per NPR. It also denied Griner's appeal, according to NBC News. 

Now that Griner is back home, she was already spotted practicing her hooping skills (via Yahoo!). However, her release has sparked an intense conversation across social media about whether Griner's freedom warranted the potential risks associated with releasing Bout. "The U.S. just got fleeced on the Brittney Griner trade," tweeted one user. "Brittney Griner trade for Viktor Bout was about dumb as hell," tweeted another user. Meanwhile, many people — including Magic Johnson — have supported Griner's release. "I'm very happy that Brittney Griner is coming home! A big thank you to President Biden, the WNBA, the NBA, and everyone involved for their efforts and prayers to bring her home safely," tweeted Johnson. 

Now, Ana Navarro of "The View" has added her two cents into the mix and has garnered some interesting reactions on social media.

The ladies of "The View" wasted no time diving into the details of Britney Griner's release on December 12. And while all of the hosts had different opinions about the outcome, Ana Navarro's stance has caught people's attention. In an attempt to seemingly denounce people who claimed Griner's release hinged on "identity politics," Navarro seemed to inadvertently agree, in part, with the detractors. "It really also irritated me how they tried to make it, you know, that so-called identity politics," started Navarro. "'Oh, they're doing this because the progressive groups are pushing because she's Black because she's gay. Yeah, you know what? Because she's Black, because she's gay, because she's 7-foot tall, they had her in a cage!" she continued. Moderator Whoopi Goldberg interjected at this, point, clarifying, "And because she's an American — don't forget that!"

Now that Navarro's soundbite has made its way to Twitter, people have thoughts. "Didn't realize there were race, sexual orientation, and height requirements for prisoner exchanges," tweeted one user, alongside a quote of Navarro's comment. Another user simply tweeted, "Wild thought process." Meanwhile, one user snidely called Navarro out on seemingly getting Griner's height wrong. "She's only 6'9, @ananavarro, you agent of misinformation ..." tweeted Dave Rubin.