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.