John Oliver Goes Off on Alabama Governor’s ‘Transgender Youth Ban’: ‘What the F*ck is Wrong With You?’
John Oliver went off on Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) for passing legislation making it illegal for doctors to provide puberty blockers and hormones to transgender minors.
“That is absolutely appalling,” Oliver said on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight.
“And look, there are lots of understandable reasons someone in Alabama might be criminally punished. For murder, say, or for running a Ponzi scheme or for creating this actual statue at an Alabama McDonald’s of Ronald McDonald reimagined as a giant boll weevil. But no one should ever be facing criminal punishment for providing healthcare to young people.”
The law made it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison to provide or prescribe gender-affirming medication to transgender youth.
On Friday, however, a judge blocked the part of the law that made it a felony to administer the medication, yet upheld the part of the legislation that banned gender-affirming surgeries for minors.
The host later called out Ivey, who referred to the judge’s ruling as a “temporary legal roadblock,” by mocking her for always looking like she’s saying the word “ham.”
“Here she is again, saying ‘ham,’ and here she is, mixing it up and saying ham, y’all,” he cracked, pulling up images of Ivey.
Oliver then played a clip of Ivey saying, “Some things are just facts. Summer’s hot, the ocean’s big, and gender is a question of biology, not identity. Here in Alabama, we’re gonna go by how God made us because we identify with something liberals never will: reality.”
“Okay, first, fuck you. Second, ‘summer’s hot, ocean’s big’ doesn’t sound like the wind up to denying trans people their rights,” the host said after airing the video. “It sounds like a children’s book the author wrote while hungover. ‘Summer’s hot. Ocean’s big. I don’t know, what more do you fucking kids want from me?'”
Oliver concluded with a message to Alabama’s transgender minors:
Y’all — am I saying that right? Y’all? I don’t think I can carry that off. You are important. I can’t imagine trying to build self-esteem in childhood as your own government attempts to undermine your very existence. But you should know, you’re profoundly valuable and you are irreplaceable. As for Kay Ivey, what the fuck is wrong with you? I know that’s a simple question with probably a long, complicated answer, but to put this in terms you’ll definitely understand: summer’s hot, ocean’s big, and the people of Alabama deserve a lot better than you.
