Ariel Helwani did not hold back on Steven Bartlett over his recent interview with Dana White, calling out what he saw as a seriously tasteless moment involving a book written by the UFC CEO’s late mother.

During the Diary of a CEO interview, Bartlett pulled out June White’s controversial 2011 unauthorized biography of her son, ‘Through a Mother’s Eyes, The Dana White Story’ (sometimes referenced or subtitled as ‘Dana White: King of MMA’), and handed it to the UFC CEO. For Helwani, the gesture crossed a line.

“He’s on today, Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO. ‘See Dana White, like you’ve never seen him before. All the same stories that we’ve heard,’” Helwani said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “And to be honest, can I just say this? While people say that, I’m not fair; I thought it was a pretty s—ty move to give him a copy of the book his mom wrote about him some 15 years ago.

“Dana’s well aware of the book. I felt like that was a classless move. Here’s the book. What do you have to say?”

Helwani’s objection went beyond the contents of the book. He felt Bartlett was unnecessarily forcing White to confront a deeply personal part of his past, particularly given the fractured relationship he had with his mother before her death.

June White’s book portrayed her son as a “vindictive tyrant” and delved into deeply personal subjects, including his marriage, alleged infidelity, and the impact of fame, money and power on his life.

When Bartlett brought it up, White said it was actually the first time he had personally seen the book.

“It’s unfortunate. I’ve actually never seen the book. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the book,” White said.

The UFC CEO explained that he knew about its contents because his lawyers had gone through it, but he had never sat down and read it himself. He also objected to the publication of private photographs, arguing that his mother had no right to release them.

For Dana White, however, the most hurtful part was not necessarily what his mother had written about him. The 57-year-old believed the book also dragged other people into the family dispute who, in his view, had done nothing to deserve it.

That was precisely why Helwani felt Bartlett should have handled the subject differently.

“That’s it. At the end of the day, that’s his mom. That’s his mom,” Helwani said. “And I don’t know. I did not like that. I did not like that for him to sit there and look through it and say, Man, it’s the first time I touched the book or see it.

“Was that necessary? Just ask him the damn question if you wanted to ask him. Did not love that.”

The exchange, however, led White to open up about the family fallout that ultimately left him estranged from his mother.

Dana White reveals what caused his relationship with his mother to rupture

According to White, the breakdown in their relationship began after he returned from a roughly two-week trip to London.

He said he had barely been checking his emails while away and came home to a series of increasingly hostile messages from his mother. White recalled that she was demanding a large amount of money and had given him the option of paying it upfront or in installments because she was looking to buy a bar.

“I was on a trip one time. I didn’t have emails and all that s— on the road,” White said. “We were in London for like two weeks, and when I got back, I checked my emails, and I had like a bunch of emails from her threatening me.

“‘You have two options: you can give me this all upfront, or you can pay me in payments over the next f——, whatever. I’m looking to buy a bar or whatever it was.’ And then she wasn’t getting responses because I was in London, and then the emails started getting nastier and nastier and nastier by the end, and I f—— just blew up.”

White described that argument as the beginning of the end of their relationship.

“That was the beginning of the end with me and her. Listen, sometimes family is the worst,” White said.

He then reflected on his own views about parenthood, saying that while everyone fails at certain things in life, he considers failing as a parent to be the greatest failure of all.

“We all fail at certain things in life. In my opinion, if you fail as a parent, it’s the ultimate failure,” White said.

The estrangement lasted until his mother’s death in 2023. White revealed that neither he nor his sister had spoken to her before she died.

“My mom passed away without me or my sister talking to her,” he added.

Despite the years of silence, White said he eventually forgave his mother. That forgiveness, however, did not mean the relationship was repaired.

When Bartlett asked whether he had forgiven her, White also made it clear that he does not want to publicly disparage his mother. Whatever happened between them, he believes his parents played a role in shaping the person he eventually became.

“I don’t go on shows to speak negatively about my mother,” White said. “I was telling you earlier, I wouldn’t change anything. People say, ‘Do you think you are who you are today because of your parents?’ Absolutely 100 percent. You know, good, bad, whatever, however you want to look at it.

“But that’s one of the grossest, most disgusting things that you couldn’t even imagine possible until it happens to you.”

Dana White also returned to what he considered the wider damage caused by the book, arguing that some of the people mentioned in it had been unfairly dragged into his family dispute.

“It happened. You know, it is what it is. The thing that’s bad about that, and what she did, is a lot of other people, I think, she hurt in that book,” he continued. “She didn’t hurt me, but other people. A lot of things that aren’t true, and a lot of people that didn’t do anything to her in that book.”

The 57-year-old again pointed to the private photographs published in the biography, saying he believed his mother had no right to release them.

“And then the, you know, the personal private pictures that she just threw out there that she really didn’t have the right to do,” White added. “It’s one of those things that when you become successful, this type of s— happens to you.”

For Helwani, though, the issue was never simply whether the book contained uncomfortable or controversial material. His criticism was about the decision to physically introduce it into the conversation.

In his view, Bartlett could have asked White about his relationship with his mother without making him confront the book itself. The interview ultimately opened the door to one of the UFC CEO’s most personal stories, but Helwani believes the way Bartlett got there was a “classless” move.