Steve Harvey is facing backlash for an interview that he did over a decade ago, in which he explains why he personally believes that men and women cannot be platonic friends. The interview was originally published in 2010 with CNN. Harvey was promoting his book Straight Talk, No Chaser. 

“I don’t have female friends,” said the comedian/actor matter-of-factly in the clip that’s making the rounds. His response went viral on TikTok before crossing over to other social media platforms. “I don’t. I’m incapable of that,” he went on. “Because, you know, come on… Well, because I have a wife, and– okay, let’s get rid of this myth right here. You’re an attractive woman. There’s some guy somewhere saying, ‘yeah, we’re friends,’ that’s not true. He’s your friend only because you have made it absolutely clear that nothing else is happening except this friendship we have. We remain your friends in hopes that one day, there’ll be a crack in the door, a chink in the armor.” Harvey continued, claiming that he believes this is accurate for 99.9% of men. “Trust and believe that the guy that you think is just your buddy… he will slide in that crack the moment he gets the opportunity. Because we’re guys! 99.9% of us think that way.”