Comedian Stephen Colbert issued what he jokingly called a “rare correkshun” after the Detroit Free Press called him out for claiming GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon made up a story about a parent’s concern over sexually explicit material in his child’s school library.
“Here's the thing, I don't make many mistakes that I'm willing to admit. But when I do, I'm big enough to admit them," Colbert said. "During a debate, she told a story that frankly I doubted."
Dixon, in discussing the “pornographic” content children are being exposed to in schools, relayed the story a man at one of her rallies told about how he found “content in my school library describing how to have sex with my son.”
"Dixon's not the only one worried about this issue. So is this guy she totally made up," Colbert said.
But that man turned out to be former Democratic candidate for state representative Khalil Othman, who said he’s voting Republican for the first time over this issue.
“To claim that I'm not here, I don't exist, I'm not human, that's absolute ignorance," Othman told the Free Press. "If this person did his due diligence and start researching or has his team do a little bit of research of who's this person who attended Dixon's rally, they will be able to find my name right away easy on social media. Just Google it."
But Colbert went on to mock Othman in his “apology.”
"This very real person deserves an apology because he says, ‘To claim that I’m not here, I don't exist, I'm not human, that's absolute ignorance.' So I would like to apologize. It is a terrible thing for someone to deny your very existence. Just ask trans people," Colbert said. "Therefore, I, Stephen Colbert, acknowledge that you exist and ask that you forgive me."
He continued to criticize the father of five who immigrated from Yemen nearly 20 years ago.
"OK, fair enough. But I will point out that Dixon never said your name. So, what am I supposed to search for?" Colbert wondered. "All she said was I had a gentleman come up to me, and he said I found content in my school library describing how to have sex to my son."
"He said that should be enough. So let's Google some keywords from that sentence," Colbert said, pulling out a laptop.
Colbert also explained he had no idea which book the man was referring to but that as a parent himself, he thinks it’s important to know what one’s children “see and read.”
“Just like everyone learning about this story has the right to know that as recently as October, last month, this guy claimed to be a Democratic politician but switched after he lost his primary and packed up his toys and went off in a huff to support an election-denying, transphobic, COVID-19 conspiracy theorist," Colbert sneered.
"What a wonderful example for all of our children," he said. "By the way, fella, if you didn't know that about Tudor Dixon before you supported her, you should Google it.”
Dixon blasted Colbert's faux-apology in an op-ed, calling him "a gasbag if there ever was one."
Much like Colbert's ratings this gag fell flat.
That must be why Colbert, whose comedy has devolved into pitiful, bitter political rants, now plays second fiddle to Fox News' Greg Gutfeld.
Now Colbert has offered an apology – in name only. He couldn't resist mocking Khalil one more time.
'I would like to apologize,' he said over the laughs of his audience. 'It is a terrible thing for someone to deny your very existence. Just ask trans people.'
So, there it is folks.
If you dare to speak up and say that you object to sexualized content in school libraries – you are an anti-trans bigot to Stephen Colbert, who can't even bring himself to offer a sincere apology to Khalil.
Colbert's cheap smuggery made Khalil upset.
But Khalil made a clear point that is serious, not just for him, but also for his community.
They are upset about what is going on in schools and Democrats don't care.
Worse still, they mock Khalil and his community.
I've traveled across the state of Michigan and have been in communities that have been decimated by Democrat policies.
I've had women and men crying to me, saying 'bring our communities back.'
Stephen Colbert would do well to visit some of those folks and hear their stories. They aren't a punchline. They aren't a joke. They're real people with real suffering who are expecting real solutions. (Daily Mail)
Stephen Colbert @stephenathome, a gasbag if there ever was one, couldn't fathom Khalil's very existence.
— Tudor Dixon (@TudorDixon) November 4, 2022
Much like Colbert's ratings, his smug gag fell flat. His comedy has devolved into pitiful, bitter political rants. Very unfunny! https://t.co/8V4Bv6DnW7
Dixon has made educational issues a key topic throughout her campaign. In addition to the problems she's hearing from parents about sexually explicit content in school and critical race theory, Dixon has focused heavily on pandemic learning loss.
“The latest numbers are saying we’ve lost three decades of reading progress in the state of Michigan,” she told Fox 17 this month. We have "to get our kids back on track.”