BlazeTV Host Jokes About Killing Trans Children
Show mocks outrage over Texas governor's order to investigate families who allow their trans children to receive gender-affirming care.
Conservative media personality and BlazeTV host Elijah Schaffer joked about killing transgender children last week after being told by an unnamed source that a “mass genocide” is being committed against trans youth in Texas.
The comment about “mass genocide,” allegedly made off-air, refers to a recent order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott directing state welfare agencies to investigate parents for suspected “child abuse” if they have reason to believe that a transgender minor has obtained gender-affirming health care, such as hormones or puberty blockers, to treat their gender dysphoria.
Schaffer, who scoffed at the idea as hyperbolic, joked with guest Dave Landau, a comedian, during a recent episode of his show Slightly Offensive.
Both men, who live in Texas, laughed at the rhetoric allegedly used by Schaffer’s off-air confidant and the characterization of Abbott and Republican lawmakers in Texas as “fascists.”
Landau started the exchange, telling Schaffer, tongue-in-cheek, that he and other Texans have been instructed to kill transgender children by dragging them behind a moving truck.
“How many trans kids did you kill today,” Schaffer asked.
“Uh — six, they come with a toll tag,” Landau responded.
“I did four,” said Schaffer. “I was trying to beat you this week.”
BlazeTV, a news and entertainment source for conservatives, has long alleged that conservative voices are being “silenced and censored” by mainstream media and that “left-wing propaganda is everywhere,” according to The Hill.
In recent years, it has become common for conservative comedians and media personalities to make “politically incorrect” jokes about hot-button topics as a way to “troll” their critics on the Left, first by angering their so-called critics by saying things that could be considered offensive, and then by critiquing the level of outrage stemming from their initial comments.
By highlighting the response to their comments, they can continue to promote the view that their critics are overly sensitive, lack a sense of humor, and are only interested in censoring dissenting views.
Even the title of the episode, “Roasting the Sh*t Out of Groomers,” was a nod to this style of trolling, where responding with any sense of outrage to Schaffer and Landau’s comments will be mocked as being too “politically correct,” and simply generate further publicity for the two.
Landau also joked about killing trans children later in the episode, saying, “They come in a tackle box, it’s like a half dozen. And you kill them any way you want, it’s pretty good.
“Only in Texas though,” he added. “I didn’t know that cause I’ve been killing them everywhere so I better stop.”
“Me too,” Schaffer replied. “I started in California — talk about the Trail of Tears, I did version two.”
The interaction was edited out of versions of the show posted to Apple and Spotify, according to media watchdog site Mediate.
In the edited versions of the video, Schaffer says in a voiceover, “This is the part of the show where Elijah talks about things he shouldn’t have and then Dave Landau eggs him on and makes it even worse, so it can’t be on the main Internet, but you can find it on Blaze TV.com for the full uncensored video.”
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