Sunny Hostin on Embracing Her Natural Curly Hair on “The View”: ‘I Got Such a Positive Response’

The television personality was previously told "early in my career" that "curly hair did not look professional"

Sunny Hostin is proud of her curly hair!

During the Tuesday, April 30 episode of the Behind the Table podcast with The View executive producer Brian Teta, a caller praised the daytime talk show host for embracing her natural hair.

“I have a question for Sunny. I have loved you on the show since you started, and I think one of the most striking differences that I noticed is the way that you look,” the caller began.

“Your hair is different and beautiful, and you've kinda switched from more of a traditional business casual to what I would describe as just wow,” the caller continued. “I am 25 and I have just started to embrace my curly hair as a Black woman. So, what inspired you to make this change?”

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The caller also admitted that from her own experience, maintaining natural hair can be “a lot of work.”

“Oh, I love that question, and I love that she noticed,” Hostin responded.

The television personality revealed that at the beginning of her career, it was frowned upon to wear her hair in its natural, unaltered state.

“You know, I was told, early in my career as a lawyer that curly hair did not look professional and that it looked unkempt. And so I spent years kind of wearing this slicked back ponytail. Right? It was kinda curly in the back, but not really, and I would slick slick my hair back,” Hostin said.

She added that once she made the switch from courtrooms to working in front of the camera, things hadn’t really changed much.

“And then when I started doing television, there was one day where a stylist convinced me to blow out my hair, which is very damaging for women that have curly naturally curly hair,” Hostin said.

She then explained how hearing her boss’ reaction impacted her view of herself at the time.

“And so I did that, and, I got a call from an executive at CNN, and that person said, this is your look. You look so professional. So there it was again, that professional professional. And I literally just thought that I had to look a certain way to make it.”

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According to Hostin, it wasn’t until the pandemic when she didn’t have a glam squad that she was able to revert to her roots.

“And then the pandemic happened. And I don't know how to do my hair any other way but curly,” Hostin told Teta of her not-so-new beauty routine.

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The result was her inspiring others.

“I was left to my own devices. And, I got such a positive response from so many people, including, like, on-air talent that said, ‘You know, I'm gonna wear my hair curly as well,’” Hostin said.

“I remember Sheinelle Jones from NBC reached out to me. Shirleen Alicott from ABC News Local reached out to me, and, they said, 'You're giving me the courage to do it,' and that meant a lot to me.”

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