Dana White Has A Hot Take On Mental Health. But is He Right?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Dana White Has A Hot Take On Mental Health. But is He Right?

The Brett Cooper Show — May 27, 2026
Host: Brett Cooper

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the controversial remarks made by UFC president Dana White regarding masculinity and men discussing their mental health. Brett Cooper explores the cultural shift in how mental health is perceived and discussed — especially the double-edged sword of destigmatization, the threat of glamorization, and the impact on genuine sufferers. Through a mix of commentary, emotional testimonials, and audience reactions, she investigates whether talking openly about mental health is a strength, a weakness, or something in between.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dana White’s Comments Stir Debate

[00:30–03:30]

• Dana White recently made headlines from a Time Magazine profile for stating that "men never ever vocalize their mental health struggles" and that talking about it publicly "opens the door to make young men think that it is okay to just effing go, oh, I'm having mental health issues. Handle it behind closed doors. Don’t show that weakness to anybody."
• His stance: Public discussion about men’s mental health is seen as "weakness," and expressing vulnerability openly is discouraged.

Notable Quote [Dana White via Time Magazine]:

“Talking about it publicly, I just feel like opens the door to make young men think that it is okay to just effing go, 'oh, I'm having mental health issues.' Handle it behind closed doors. Don't show that weakness to anybody and don't call any of this toxic.” — [02:50]

• Brett notes the article (and backlash) is biased against White, but also finds his distinction between "being a douchebag and being masculine" to be interesting.

2. Reaction from the Public and the UFC Community

[03:30–06:08]

• Mixed comments from men online:
  • Some agree with Dana that vulnerability should be private.
  • Others highlight the risk when men feel they can’t talk at all: “this is why dudes kill themselves.”
  • UFC fighters like Patty Pimlett and Khalil Rountree offer a counterpoint, speaking openly about their own struggles and the necessity to share.

Memorable Moment [Patty Pimlett]:

"There's a stigma in this world that men can't talk...If you're a man and you've got weight on your shoulders...please speak to someone...I'd rather my mate cry on my shoulder than go to his funeral next week." — Patty Pimlett [04:02]

• These fighters are celebrated online for their courage and honesty — countering Dana White’s narrative.

3. The Host’s Personal Perspective

[06:08–08:50]

• Brett emphasizes her personal stake: she’s seen severe mental illness, addiction, and suicide attempts in her own family.
  • She spent years in therapy herself.
  • Strongly believes in the need for genuine conversations and seeking help.
• However, she acknowledges Dana White has a partial point about “wearing mental illness as an accessory” and a trend of self-diagnosis among younger generations, often trivializing real suffering.

Notable Quote [Brett Cooper]:

"I do not think that all conversations around mental health are bad or weak. Obviously, some of them are actually very needed. However...unfortunately, Dana has a bit of a point based on the way that our current culture wears mental illness as a type of accessory." — [08:00]

4. Glamorization & Self-Diagnosis on Social Media

[08:50–10:50, 15:05–17:30]

• Brett notes the problematic rise of social media “sad culture”:
  • Teens romanticizing mental illness for community and identity — “depression, anxiety, anorexia and bipolarity are cool or make you special.”
  • Trend of TikTok quizzes for “diagnosis” (e.g., “10 out of 10 diagnosed as bipolar”).
• The body positivity movement is cited as a parallel: well-intentioned destigmatization morphs into glamorizing serious conditions, making it harder for real sufferers to be taken seriously.
• Increasing indifference and skepticism toward serious mental illness as a result.

Notable Quote [Brett Cooper]:

“Now literally social media is making people romanticize having anxiety, having bipolar disorder, having OCD, anorexia so that they can fit in.” — [09:45]

5. Unintended Consequences: 'Victim Status Culture' & Delegitimization

[15:05–17:30]

• Trendiness leads to trivialization, creating backlash (“toughen up, buttercup” sentiment).
• Self-diagnosis especially prevalent in high-risk or marginalized internet communities (e.g., “incels”).
• Worry: those who genuinely suffer are dismissed alongside wannabe “victims,” making it harder for them to seek support.

6. Genuine Sharing Isn't Weakness: Examples from Influencers & Fighters

[17:30–22:41]

• Brett plays and discusses clips from Theo Vaughn:
  • Honest recounting of childhood trauma, low self-worth, prayer, and his struggle to overcome bad behaviors.
  • Explores getting off antidepressants, working with his doctor, finding power over life, using fitness and self-accountability.
• Echoes earlier fighter stories—sharing isn’t about “woe is me” but about action, honesty, and the pursuit of improvement.

Memorable Quote [Theo Vaughn]:

“I want to feel how I'm supposed to feel so I can have thoughts and actions that make me feel connected to the world. That shit [antidepressants] makes you feel dead, man.” — [21:17]

Notable Reflection [Brett Cooper]:

"I don't see that as weakness...He is actively working through the things that he has going on in his life...That is so incredibly admirable...How could that be considered weakness?" — [22:41]

7. Defining Healthy Masculinity & Accountability

[22:41–25:13]

• Celebrates men like Theo, Patty, Khalil — they speak up, seek help, but crucially, take responsibility and pursue growth.
• Brett’s definition of weakness: people who complain publicly without doing anything, not those striving to overcome.
• Life’s challenges are universal; resilience and movement forward exemplify real strength.
• “No shame” in hardship, but “paramount...at the end of the day, you start to do something about it. And please...do not make it your summer 2026 accessory.”

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Notable Quotes & Time Stamps

• [02:50] Dana White (via Time Magazine):
  “Talking about it publicly...opens the door to make young men think it is okay to just effing go, 'oh, I'm having mental health issues.' Handle it behind closed doors. Don't show that weakness to anybody and don't call any of this toxic.”
• [04:02] Patty Pimlett:
  "If you're a man and you've got weight on your shoulders and you think the only way you can solve it by killing yourself, please speak to someone...I'd rather me make cry on my shoulder than go to his funeral next week."
• [05:25] Khalil Rountree:
  "The mental ups and downs are not as steep right now...I've experienced a lot of highs, I've experienced a lot of lows...and I'm just really trying to figure out how to kind of...even out the wave."
• [08:00] Brett Cooper:
  "Dana has a bit of a point based on the way that our current culture wears mental illness as a type of accessory."
• [09:45] Brett Cooper:
  "Now literally social media is making people romanticize having anxiety, having bipolar disorder, having OCD, anorexia so that they can fit in."
• [21:17] Theo Vaughn:
  "I want to feel how I'm supposed to feel so I can have thoughts and actions that make me feel connected to the world. That shit [antidepressants] makes you feel dead, man."
• [22:41] Brett Cooper:
  "How could that be considered weakness?...That is honesty. It's self awareness. It is accountability."

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Conclusion

The episode offers a nuanced look at masculinity, vulnerability, and mental health in the modern age. Brett Cooper criticizes both the glamorization and trivialization of mental illness while affirming the courage and necessity of real conversations and self-improvement. Ultimately, the message is one of strength through honesty, action, and accountability—not performative victimhood or stoic silence.

Final Thought [Brett Cooper, 24:50]:

“There is absolutely no shame in having mental health problems...but it is paramount in my opinion that, at the end of the day, you start to do something about it. And please, for the love of all that is good in the world, do not make it your summer 2026 accessory.”

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Transcript

[Podcast Host 1]

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[Podcast Host 2]

Well guys, you heard it here first. Being part of the LGBTQ IXYZ community is out and being part of the adhd, bipolar, ocd, anxiety, depression community is in. Which really, all jokes aside, does make me sad. Because mental illness is a real thing. People struggle through their mental health on a daily basis. But like all things in our modern culture, it has now become so widespread, so mainstream, so normalized, so, so normalize that now you can scroll through a 10 slide TikTok test to self diagnose and figure out if you are actually bipolar. Plus, it is glamorized online. It's glamorized in TV shows like Euphoria that young people are watching every single day. And so to that I say let's remove the glamorization. Make mental health struggles a problem again. Make them something that is serious, that you take seriously, that you are actively working through, that you are fighting to overcome, that you are seeking solutions for, not just moaning about on a podcast or in a 30 second TikTok video. And that, my friends, I think is a is why Dana White is saying that men should not talk about their feelings. So what made me want to do this episode today was the fact that Dana White just got a Time magazine cover. The majority of this cover profile was obviously about the UFC, the rise of UFC's, you know, success, the upcoming fight at the White House. But he made one comment about masculinity and mental health that ruffled a lot of feathers. And so now this has become the most talked about part of the entire article. So the article rates cigars, guitars, sports memorabilia, they're all there. Quote, I am unapologetically masculine, White says. Men in White's mind never split the bill when out to dinner with a woman. Men don't shirk family responsibilities and they never ever vocalize their mental health struggles. Quote, Talking about it publicly, I just feel like opens the door to make young men think that it is okay to just effing go, oh, I'm having mental health issues. White says in a mock whiny voice. Handle it behind closed doors. Don't show that weakness to anybody and don't call any of this toxic. Quote what is toxic masculinity? Says White. Who has it? Who's too masculine? The author then replies and says, I suggest that when this attitude begets unjustified violence, you can call it toxic. No quote, then you're a douchebag. Says White. There's a difference between being a douchebag and being masculine. And on that note, I completely agree. I also just love the way that this article is written. It's written with such disdain and it's very humorous if you actually like Dana White and you know the bias of this reporter and that this reporter definitely does not like Dana White. But anyway, all of that aside, getting into it, back into the topic of mental health, what I found interesting is that now as this quote is going viral, everybody is clipping it, putting it online, is that there was no real consensus among the men in the comments. Like for example, somebody said to an extent he is right, men should talk about their mental health issues with certain people behind closed doors maybe, but coming out in the public about it is just not a good idea as a man, another person said, and this is why dudes kill themselves. What if they don't have somebody to talk to behind closed doors? Another man said one of his biggest up and coming talents says the exact opposite. 100 men per day in the US take their own lives. Looking weak is an insane way to put it. It takes tremendous strength to talk about these issues, mostly because people like Dana say that you shouldn't. And I see his point because it's a very strong statement to come out and say you are essentially a pussy if you talk about your mental health problems. You are weak. If you say I need help, just figure it out behind closed doors. And this commenter again brings up a good point. What if you don't have anybody to talk to about it? Now I'm guessing that this commenter was referring to a fighter in the UFC named Patty Pimlett, who after losing two of his close friends to suicide, has now dedic many of his post fight interviews in the Octagon to spreading awareness about men's mental health. And this is what he said after a fight just days after he learned that one of his friends had died.

[Patty Pimlett]

I want to dedicate this fight to little Baby Lee, little warrior, like more of a fighter than any of us will ever be. But also I woke up on Friday morning 4am to a message that one of my friends back home had killed himself. This is a five hours before me weigh in. So Ricky lad, that's for you. But. There's a stigma in this world that men can't talk. Listen, if you're a man and you've got weight on your shoulders and you think the only way you can solve it by killing yourself, please speak to someone. Speak to anyone. People would rather. I know I'd rather me make cry on my shoulder than go to his funeral next week. So please, let's get rid of this stigma and men start talking.

[Podcast Host 2]

I mean, I've now watched that clip like 10 times as I was putting this episode together. I tear up every single time. It's incredibly powerful. And he is full far from the only man in the UFC universe that has used his platform to speak about this. Another fighter. This fighter's name is Khalil Rountree. He has been open about his own journey, which he talked about here.

[Khalil Rountree]

I feel like I'm on a good track right now just based off of how I feel physically. The mental ups and downs are not as steep right now, and I would say that that's kind of like, that's kind of the place I'm in is I've experienced a lot of highs, I've experienced a lot of lows. I'm still me, so they're still there internally, emotionally. And I'm just really trying to figure out how to kind of like, even out the wave versus like this, like the extremes, because I can be very extreme and just really trying to, like, you know, stay within that middle ground of balance.

[Podcast Host 2]

Now, personally, don't know about you guys, but personally, I would not call either of those men pussies. I actually think most people would call them inspirations. And just based on the comment sections of those two videos, I think the commenters would agree. For example, one man commented and said he has no idea how powerful this is. Talking about Patty's speech, absolutely amazing. Another man commenting under Roundtree's video said, I've been a fan of Khalil since Tough. I can really relate to the guy. Humble, honest, down to earth and dedicated. Been through adversity with weight and mental health and focusing on finding themselves. Win or lose, he is still a great fighter. Another commenter, a man, said, I have often wondered how many lives this speech saved. And that comment was in regards to Patty and that type of speech that you guys saw. It is now a speech that he gives often. And this is all an incredibly relevant and important subject because men in this country make up 80% of suicides. They are four times as likely to commit suicide as American women. So all of this to say just to lay the groundwork for this topic. I do not think that all conversations around mental health are bad or weak. Obviously, some of them are actually very needed. However. However, that being said, I do think, unfortunately, that Dana has a bit of a point based on the way that our current culture wears mental illness as a type of accessory. And if we had not, you know, destigmatized and normalized mental health to the point where people are now openly using it as a crutch, it's now this cool community that they wanna be a part of, then I would probably be a lot angrier about his statement. I would agree with it a lot less. But unfortunately, this is just the culture that we live in. And I think that he is reacting to that. And because of this culture that has now normalized everything, a lot of times when people are talking about mental health, I roll my eyes and I feel awful about that fact. Like, on this note, another commenter under the original Dana post said this. He said, I'm currently debating writing a book about suicide and mental health. And as crazy as Dana White sounds, he does have a point. People have attempted to destigmatize talking about mental health so much that there is actually a backlash against it. And I hate to say it, it's actually a very crazy, crappy feeling. But I agree. And that probably comes from my own personal, lived experiences. I mean, as you guys probably know by now, I literally talked about it in yesterday's episode. But I've spent over a decade now watching my older brother fight his own mental health battles. I've watched him fight schizophrenia for over a decade. I've watched him abuse drugs. I have gone to find him on the street in California where he was homeless. I have watched my dad fight clinical depression for my entire life. Life. I have seen people that I love try to hurt themselves and take their own lives. I personally, on my own journey to work through all of that, spent years in therapy. And honestly, with all of the drastic changes in my life over the last couple of years, I might even be due to go back to therapy to make sure my head is on straight for the future. But my point being, I have been incredibly entrenched in the mental health world for essentially my entire life. I have watched severe mental illness in action. I have seen people that I know and love fighting to take back their lives and heal and overcome. And I have also seen what happens when you do nothing, when you just give in, when you refuse to speak to somebody or seek help. You refuse to even acknowledge that the problem exists and is hurting the people around you. So I'm sorry if personally I just don't really love the Gen zers, the millennials on Tik Tok who are just so addicted to self diagnosing themselves with disorders from the DSM just so that they can feel like they are a part of something. Because at the end of the day that's really what it is. And yes, what you just saw is actually happening more than you think it is now even being studied. One article reads. We are more anxious and depressed than ever before, or at least talking about it more freely. But the trendiness of sad online culture may lead to wrongful self diagnoses and an inadvertent trivialization of severe illnesses. Quote More and more teenagers are convinced that depression, anxiety, anorexia and bipolarity are cool or can even make you special. For some people, especially when they're young, there is a bit of a pull to join a group and the group of people with social anxiety or depression feels like one that you can easily join. Now I read this and I was just like great. Like we're all just so screwed up. Like it's not just that social media itself, it's not just that the doom scrolling and the algorithm is bad for mental health. Now literally social media is making people romanticize having anxiety, having bipolar disorder, having OCD anorexia so that they can fit in. And so to that I say Silence Search Shop is a great place to buy suppressors for your firearm. Haven't you heard? Now real talk here. Suppressors used to feel like this whole dangerous mysterious thing to me. Like you needed a lawyer and a filing cabinet and a blood oath and six to 12 months of your life just to be able to acquire one. Plus the government made you pay them a tax stamp just to get one. Well, as of January 1, 2026, that $200 tax from the government is gone. And with Silencer Shop, getting a suppressor is actually not that hard at all. It's actually quite simple. 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[Podcast Host 1]

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[Podcast Host 2]

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[Podcast Host 2]

Now back to the pitfalls of this widespread normalization and glamorization. One study that was looking at the self diagnosis found that recent studies, including the BBC experiment highlighting human tendency to manufacture problems, shed light on the psychological underpinnings driving the phenomenon of mental illness glorification, the allure of negativity packaged in aesthetically pleasing edits and shared experiences captivates young audiences, blurring the lines between universal emotions and genuine mental health symptoms. Consequently, impressionable individuals may self diagnose or adopt personality traits associated with fictional characters, leading to potential misinterpretations and worsening of existing challenges. And then they take it even further. A self diagnosis of mental illness has been frequently self reported by members of the involuntary celibate community incels who have also been extensively linked to mass shooter violence. According to one study, 95% and 93% of this community had self diagnosed themselves with depression and anxiety respectively. One can speculate that in the process of normalization and destigmatization, the unintended consequence of using mental illness as a get out of jail free card, that is an exoneration mechanism, has emerged. Oh, you wouldn't say, you wouldn't say that it is a get out of jail free card. Imagine using a crutch to further your victim status and a lack of responsibility in this culture. Never shocking. Could never see that coming. Obviously those of us with two brain cells know that that is incredibly. I mean people are now taking TikTok generated tests to see if they are bipolar. Just look at this. Do I have bipolar disorder? Here's the 10 question screening test you can go through, you can answer all of these questions and then at the end, based on how many times you said yes, they will let you know whether you are actually bipolar. And according to people in the comments, a lot of people are like somebody said 10 out of 10 diagnosed. Another person said I've got 10 out of 10, what should I do? One girl said 10 out of 10. I'm 20 and diagnosed. I also have glycomitic disorder, MDD, MIA, BED and ADHD. Great. Stay safe y'. All. It's hard but you will get through it. An inspiration. An inspiration. Now thanks to all of this, the trend of self diagnosing, the glamorization of mental illness, much like the unintended consequences of the body positivity movement, for example, now fewer people give a crap, fewer people care, fewer people are taking it seriously. But I would guess just taking a gander here, that now there are also more people like Dana White who look around at our soft responsibility less cult and say tough enough buttercup, don't be a pussy. And does mental illness even exist? Like the reason the people online say depression isn't real, anxiety isn't real, is because of the tiktoks that you just watched is because of this phenomenon of Everybody right and left just being like, yeah, I'm depressed. I had a sad day, I'm depressed. No, it's like, no, I'm guessing you aren't. I'm guessing you just had a normal human emotion that was not happy. But that does not mean that severe real mental illness does not exist. It's a very nuanced conversation that unfortunately has been muddled by social media. Our desperate need for community and a desperate need to heighten your own victim status. Now, another unintended consequence of this is that it delegitimizes people who are talking about their own experiences or about mental health on a whole from a genuine, serious, real place. Which brings me back to my point earlier, which is that not all of these conversations are bad. They are not necessarily a sign of weakness. Asking for help, you know, realizing that you are a human with these crazy up and down moments. If you are dealing with depression, it does not make you any less of a masculine man. Especially if you are taking action to make your life better. For example, my friend Theo Vaughn has been very open about his mental health struggles on his own show. Just take a look at this clip and then we're going to talk about it.

[Theo Vaughn]

You know, I've been struggling, man, the past like couple years I've had, you know, it's been a struggle in certain ways with certain behaviors that I'm just not proud of. Right. Or really just behaviors that I didn't want to do anymore. You know, my story in my life. And I'm sorry to make this about me kind of, but I'm just trying to share like, you know, when I was growing up like my mom, something was wrong with her. I love my mother, you know, but she didn't connect with me. She didn't like look at me and, and she didn't, you know, she wouldn't hold me that much and she didn't look, she. She wouldn't look me in the eyes. Right. And. And so as a kid, I felt like. I felt like something was wrong with me. You know, it just gave me low self worth. And honestly it made it tough for me to even have a self because the only person that I only knew who I was if you reacted to me well. Right. Like I became just a people pleaser because I didn't have any feelings of self worth. So the only way I could get my worth was from you, right? From somebody else. And it made sense because I didn't have a me, you know, I didn't have a big sense of self. And So I got myself from who you thought I was, and I needed everybody to like me. You know, sometimes I realized for myself, I would pray to God to help me get away from certain behaviors in my life, but at the same time that I was praying there would be a part of me that knew I was probably going to do those things again, you know, that I was probably going to do those things again. Like, I beg God, please help me. I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to have this behavior. But there'll be a little part of me that was like, I know even as I ask, ask for God's help, that I'm going to do it again.

[Podcast Host 2]

I don't see that as weakness. Obviously, I don't like. This is a man who is sharing his journey. He is incredibly self aware. He's incredibly honest. He's sharing all of this with his huge audience of people, many of which I'm sure are struggling through similar things, are trying to overcome things. But most importantly, and this is the thing that always stands out to me about Theo, is that he is actively working through the things that he has going on in his life. He's not just sitting behind a microphone saying, woe is me. Have pity on me. Like, in fact, I have never heard him say anything remotely like that at all. He's saying, I've got crap that I want to deal with. I am actively working on it. I am trying to be better. I am praying to God to be better. And that is so incredibly admirable. It is why he went on Rogan's podcast and talked about trying to get off of SSRIs. Just watch.

[Theo Vaughn]

One of my goals is to get off of antidepressants completely, man. I want to feel how I'm supposed to feel so I can have thoughts and actions that. That, like, make me feel connected to the world. That shit makes you feel dead, man. So why did you take them in the first place? Because I was in a bad relationship 20 years ago and I was having a tough day at school and they fucking put me. They gave them to me, and then I never got off. Really? Because when you get off, it's that. I think we talked about this once. It's hard.

[Khalil Rountree]

Yeah.

[Theo Vaughn]

It makes you more depressed, more fucked up, and you're all imbalanced and you, you know, probably are addicted to them. Yeah. And so I. That's one of my goals is. And I noticed, like, for me, I've been taking, like, methyl blue. I've been doing some things like, and I'm working with a doctor to help me, but I want to. I'm gonna get there, and I'm just gonna start to take the power back of myself more.

[Podcast Host 2]

Well, they say that exercise is like,

[Khalil Rountree]

many times greater in its effect at alleviating depression.

[Theo Vaughn]

Dude, I wake up and I do my yoga and I do like a 35 minute workout. I'll do like six exercises, five runs of it in a row. That's 30 exercises. Burn through them, bitches. And I'm. And I'm. If I do that when I get up in the morning, bro, I am good. Yeah, I'm fine all day. And I'm also more positive because I've already taken care of myself in a way that I feel is sufficient enough for me to keep operating and moving forward.

[Podcast Host 2]

I mean, I feel like I'm just like a puddle of emotions this entire episode. But that clip of Theo just makes me tear up, number one, because I just love him and he's a great human. But, like, even for myself as just a viewer, that's inspiring to see, like, having accountability, taking back your life. That's not weakness. That's honesty. It's self awareness. It is accountability. It's something that can and should inspire and empower others who are out there in the same spot as him. How could that be considered weakness? And what's great about men like Theo Vaughan and the UFC fighters Patty and Khalil, and I would hope that Dana White would agree with this. All of his weakness masculinity comments aside, is that even as they talk about this, even as they are open about it, they keep going. They keep trying to move forward. They show up for work, whether that is to interview somebody, make somebody laugh, or, you know, beat the brains out of another guy. They show up for the people in their lives. They're good friends. They are seeking joy. They're trying to make themselves better. They're trying to make a difference in the world. Like, that, in my eyes, is incredibly masculine. That is literally the opposite of weakness. And so if I had to guess, you know, me sitting here psychoanalyzing everything, the weakness, weakness that Dana was talking about, lamenting about in that Time Profile article is probably, you know, the soy boys who cry online for attention, who make themselves out to be some big victim, but most importantly, who come online and publicly complain about things and lament without actually doing anything to better the situation that they are in. And that I would agree, man or woman, is weakness. That is self harming behavior. It's harming the people around you as well. Because like, at some point in your life, at some point or another, we are all going to have those intense up and down moments like Khalil was talking about in his interview. Like my mom always says, like we are one tragic event away from losing our minds. Kind of like my brother did. And truth be told, like, recently I have been in the Valley. If we're talking about the ups and downs, my postpartum hormone crash is definitely not helping. The sleep deprivation is not helping. But man or woman, you pick yourself up, you talk to the people that you love, you get help if you need, you pray more. In my case, you stop eating as many chocolate chip cookies so your brain stops getting inflamed and you stop being so anxious. You go work out like your husband tells you to and you keep pushing forward. There is absolutely no shame in having mental health problems. There is no shame in being in the Valley at a certain point of your life. There is no shame in needing help, asking for help, feeling broken, but it is paramount in my opinion. But at the end of the day, you start to do something about it. And please, for the love of all that is good in the world, do not make it your summer 2026 accessory. That is over. It's done. I've canceled it. Want to keep up with everything trendy?

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