Backlash After SNL's Colin Jost Makes Pointed Trans Joke

Colin Jost, co-host of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, made a joke on the most recent episode that poked fun at Tinder and claimed the dating app cost Hillary Clinton the election because it added new gender options.

"The dating app Tinder announced a new feature this week, which gives users 37 different gender identity options," Jost said. "It's called, 'Why Democrats lost the election.'"

Some bristled at blame being placed on transgender and gender non-binary people for Donald Trump winning the Electoral College. The minor Twitter reaction to the joke would have inevitably died down had Jost not responded to the criticism. The comedian argued that "identity politics" contributed to the results of November 8 and Tweeted a link to a reductive New York Times op-ed that made the same claim.

Columbia professor Mark Lilla argued in the Times piece that Hillary Clinton made a mistake by mentioning racial and sexual minorities in her stump speeches, saying it turned off people not explicitly appealed to by her, namely straight, white Christian men. Lilla doesn't mention that Clinton's frequent references to "Latino rights" and "LGBT rights" was an effort at inclusion, not division; something her opponent successfully campaigned on, something that Lilla insinuates was preferable. Lilla also fails to acknowledge that American society has focused almost exclusively on the desires and concerns of straight, white, Christian men, while only recently adressing the discrepancies in civil rights, financial status, and violence affecting women, people of color, LGBT people, and religious minorities.

Trending stories

How climate disasters hurt mental health in young people

Discover the power of Wellness in your life

Elon Musk uses burner accounts on X, doesn’t fact-check: report

Gerald Garth is keeping people of color happy and healthy through trying times

The Charles is Pacific Grove's new LGBTQ+ hotel

​6 lesbian films coming we can't wait to see in 2025

All 6 rogue Mississippi cops got long prison sentences in 'Goon Squad' torture of 2 Black men

France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in constitution

Cowboys & Queens U.S. tour by Jane Hilton: A modern American dream

For us, by us: 15 great trans movies made by trans filmmakers

In 'Survival of the Thickest,' queer joy and activism are one and the same

SFAF's Dr. Tyler TerMeer says he'll continue to fight for health care for all

Watch Kelly Clarkson celebrate Trans Day of Visibility on her show

Trans Day of Visibility meets MAGA? See this 'Drag Race' star's fierce stunt

Country star Tanner Adell comes out as pansexual

From rock legends to Pride flags: Discover the vibrant LGBTQ+ scene in Asbury Park

Bob the Drag Queen shades Mistress Isabelle Brooks’ weight loss: 'Girl, you have to get new pads'

Joe Biden has tied the record for most LGBTQ+ judges confirmed in federal courts

Trump's orders prompt CDC to erase HIV resources

Where to stay in LGBTQ+ Ireland: Castles, domes and luxury retreats

Season 4 of The Switch on resilience & radical self-love returns this spring

Elton John broke down crying while writing new song 'about my death'

Discover why chic Costa Navarino is Europe's luxury getaway

JD Vance ruthlessly mocked after everyone in Greenland refused to welcome wife Usha Vance

Watch: In gay period romance 'Lilies Not For Me,' playful wrestling turns sensual (exclusive)

• 0
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8

Lilla argues that celebrating difference is wrong-headed because Americans want to be convinced we all have the same problems. Of course, that's an easy argument to make if the president-elect isn't threatening to deport you or force you to use certain public facilities. In other words, it's easy to hate "identity politics" when your identity, like Jost's, isn't a liability.