TRUE CRIME NEWSDr. Phil McGraw Blasts The View's Sunny Hostin for Comments on Karmelo Anthony Murder Verdict: 'Didn't Bother to Learn the Facts'
Dr. Phil McGraw shaded Sunny Hostin's comments.
July 2 2026, Updated 2:17 p.m. ET
Dr. Phil McGraw was taken back by what some of The View co-hosts had to say about the Karmelo Anthony murder case.
Anthony, 19, was found guilty of fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf, 17, during a heated 2025 encounter at a high school football game, resulting in him being sentenced to 35 years in prison last month.
"The system worked and it's still working," Dr. Phil said in a new interview. "They had the trial and he was convicted."
What Did Sunny Hostin Say?
Dr. Phil McGraw said the legal system worked in the Karmelo Anthony murder case.
The View's Sunny Hostin, a former prosecutor, didn't agree with the verdict, as she felt the incident was self-defense.
(In court, it was claimed Anthony was invited into the rival school's tent but was then asked to leave. Things got tense, with Metcalf trying to physically oust him from the area, prompting Anthony to take out a knife and stab him.)
Sunny Hostin didn't 'understand why self-defense was rejected' by the jury.
"I don't understand why self-defense was rejected by this jury. The kid that died was 200 pounds, this kid was 130 pounds, and the other kid was taller than he is," Hostin shared. "He was the only Black kid under the tent, and the victim here had his twin brother with him who was also a very large person."
Phil McGraw Accuses Sunny Hostin of Trying to 'Advance an Agenda'
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Dr. Phil accused Sunny Hostin of not 'learning the facts' of the case.
McGraw said of Hostin's backlash, "If they disagree with that, they can take it to the Texas Supreme Court and get another bite at the apple. The system is a good one and it works."
McGraw accused Hostin of trying to "advance an agenda."
McGraw noted that the two young men "didn't have a history of having conflict based on any racial history and, at the time of the incident, nobody reported that there were any racial slurs made or anything of the sort. So that didn't play a part in what took place."
Karmelo Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
"The question [for the appellate panel] has to be, based on the facts, should it have made a difference if Black people were on the jury? There's no evidence that this confrontation was started by anyone other than Karmelo Anthony," he stated. "There's no evidence that it was escalated by anyone other than Karmelo Anthony."
McGraw concluded by shading The View star, claiming she "apparently didn't bother to learn the facts of the case before they started crying foul."
Whoopi Goldberg Warns Sunny Hostin
During The View's chat, Whoopi Goldberg told Sunny Hostin to not speak on behalf of the victim.
Elsewhere in the morning show's discussion of the tragedy, Hostin claimed Metcalf's father called Anthony "a racial s---." She also alleged that he said "the reason that black people weren’t on the jury is because black people are unable to hold bias from the trial because they don’t know their own fathers, have a bunch of baby mommas running around, living off of government assistance."
Whoopi Goldberg warned her co-host, "Well, let’s...let’s not say that that was the victim’s thinking as well."
"I’m not saying it was thinking of the victim, but of the victim’s father," Hostin replied, an answer that didn't seem to sit well with the EGOT winner as they cut to a commercial break.
