After a Florida Republican compared transgender people to mutants this week, CBS late night host Stephen Colbert took some time on Tuesday night to tear apart the representative’s entire logic, before dubbing him a mutant with “dumbass” abilities.
On Monday, in a hearing about a bill that would criminalize using a bathroom that doesn’t match someone’s birth-assigned gender, Rep. Webster Barnaby “offered a confusing metaphor” — as Colbert put it — for the existence of trans people in this country.
“I’m looking at society today and it’s like I’m watching an ‘X-Men’ movie,” Barnaby said. He added, “It’s like we have mutants living among us on planet Earth.”
As he continued speaking, Barnaby largely stayed calm — at least until the end of his statement. On his final sentence, he got visibly agitated, yelling out, “This is the planet Earth!” And of course, Colbert was all too happy to point out Barnaby’s logic flaws in that.
“There’s a lot to unpack there,” Colbert mocked. “First, the X-Men are from planet Earth. Second, if you’re against trans people, why would you compare them to incredibly cool superheroes, with laser eyes, indestructible skeletons, or who control the weather with sexiness?”
Speaking more seriously, Colbert pointed out that the “X-Men” franchise specifically has always been about inclusivity, so using it to mock trans people simply doesn’t make sense.
“Most importantly, the entire message of all of these movies is that society should accept everyone no matter their differences,” Colbert said. “Stan Lee himself said he created the ‘X-Men’ characters as a metaphor for civil rights, and the franchise is explicitly a gay rights parable. So Barnaby is purposefully misrepresenting these ‘X-Men’ movies. Unless … unless his mutant power is … being a dumbass!”
To be clear, it was actually “X-Men” director Bryan Singer, who is openly gay himself, who used the term “parable” to explain the film’s ties to LGBTQ+ rights. But indeed, Marvel legend Stan Lee was also a fierce advocate for marginalized communities and did create the X-Men (plus several other heroes) as metaphors for civil rights.
You can watch Colbert’s full monologue in the video above.