Late night host Stephen Colbert is facing criticism following a blue joke during his monologue Monday night, as Variety reports. The joke, aimed at President Donald Trump, implied that the commander-in-chief engaged in fellatio with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"You talk like a sign language gorilla that got hit in the head," Colbert said of Trump. "In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s cock holster."
This joke was one among many hurled at Trump in the evening's monologue, which focussed on the president's interview with CBS's John Dickerson. The interview ended abruptly when Dickerson questioned the president about the unsubstantiated claim that Barack Obama wiretapped Trump's campaign.
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"I just wanted to find out — you’re the president of the United States — you said [Obama] was ‘sick’ and ‘bad,'" Dickerson pointed out in the interview. Trump famously called the president "sick" and "bad" in a series of Tweets in March.
"You don’t have to ask me....because I have my own opinions, you can have your own opinions," Trump replied.
After Dickerson pressed the matter, Trump declared, "That's enough." The interview ended with an awkward silence while Trump ruffled through papers in the Oval Office. In the same interview, the president jokingly called Dickersons' show "Deface the Nation."
Colbert's barb came as a response to this insult to both anchor John Dickerson and the CBS show Face the Nation.
"Now, John Dickerson has way too much dignity to trade insults with the president of the United States. But I, sir, am no John Dickerson." A slew of insults followed, concluding with the crude joke that has inspired the hashtag "#firecolbert."
Critics found Colbert's joke about Trump and Putin homophobic, as it implies that fellatio between men is shameful. Others found the joke simply vulgar, and unfit for prime-time television.
I'm gonna blow your mind: Stephen Colbert is a great comedian who shouldn't be fired, but that joke was homophobic and cheap.
— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) May 3, 2017
Stephen Colbert: *makes homophobic joke*
— LOGⒶN SLIMCOCK (@_callummtaylor) May 3, 2017
LGBT+ people: Can you not?
Liberals: All he did was imply gay sex acts are shameful. Get over it.
lololol remember when @StephenAtHome made good jokes and had a great show instead of engaging in petty, crude tantrums? #FireColbert
— ↞ƞαταƨħα⊸ (@themangolady) May 3, 2017
How the hell is @StephenAtHome allowed to say such horrible, homophobic things about our @POTUS and not be fired?? #BoycotCBS #FireColert
— DeplorableRedneck (@Bonnieg22) May 3, 2017
Many are calling for Colbert to be fired, or for him to resign. However, there seem to be two sides to the criticism: Some are upset that the joke is homophobic. Others are offended on behalf of the president, and seem to be upset that Colbert referenced a sex act in the same breath as Trump's name. Those in the latter group have connected the #firecolbert campaign with the recent firing of Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly.
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if @billoreilly was let go for accusations then @StephenAtHome should be fired for his homophobic statements! #FireColbert @CBS
— Rotten Ronnie ® ?? (@RottenRonnie7) May 2, 2017
Bet CBS won't #FireColbert. Now, if Stephen Colbert were on Fox News and a conservative...
— Alex Borelli (@Aosc2) May 3, 2017
Conservative pundit Milo Yiannopoulos, in praise of free speech, co-opted the term "cock holster" to refer to women's mouths. In a Facebook post, Yiannopoulos used the term to refer to Lena Dunham, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and Hillary Clinton's mouthes.
"Big win for free speech: Colbert has made 'cock holster' an okay alternative to 'mouth,' he wrote. Read the full post here.
As of yet, neither CBS nor Colbert has not commented on the #firecolbert campaign. On last night's episode, Colbert instead addressed Jimmy Kimmel's heartfelt monologue about his son's health scare.
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