'The View's' Sunny Hostin is paranoid that mask-wearing will result in racial profiling, arrests

Sunny Hostin, co-host on "The View," said this week that COVID-19 guidelines encouraging public mask-wearing could be a detriment to black men.

What are the details?

During Friday's broadcast of the hit ABC show, Hostin said, "Something that I have been thinking about, because you see all of these cases that have been coming up, especially about black men wearing masks and then being racially profiled and being pulled over and arrested."

She pointed out a recent news item in which a police officer handcuffed a black doctor who was on his way to hand out tents to Miami's homeless population. The incident is currently under investigation.

"There was an article about a black doctor in Miami that was handcuffed because he was taking some things out of his truck," she said. "I have a friend saying he won't wear a bandana, he's going to wear something like a pig mask so that he's not profiled, so that he doesn't scare anyone."

"For black men or Latino men, I think there is a fear that if you follow the guidelines, which is wear a mask when you're outside, will that lead to racial profiling? And so it's a real concern in certain communities," she insisted.

Whoopi Goldberg chimed in, "Better to wear the mask and let people figure out if they're afraid of you or don't wear the mask and know that they're gonna be afraid. I pose that to the people who are nervous about seeing black men in masks."

Earlier in April, the Centers for Disease Control directed the American public to wear face coverings when they leave the house in order to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus pandemic.

Some governors — including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) — have made the suggestion a mandate in their states.