In the latter half of Tuesday’s edition of The View, gay actor Billy Porter screamed like a banshee as he denounced Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for cracking down on child exploitation at drag shows. The unhinged Porter screamed that DeSantis had launched a “civil war of the mind” and conspiratorially shouted about how investigators needed to “follow the money.” His manic tirade received nothing but strong approval from the rest of the cast.
Joy Behar noted that, in the eight months since Porter was last on the show, “things have only escalated” in terms of DeSantis’s legal challenges to kids being at drag shows. “What do you make of the fact that we’re still talking about this, and that it’s happening in other states too, not just Florida?” she wondered. “There’s this war against trans people,” she answered for him.
Things immediately dipped into the conspiratorial as Porter shouted about the need to “follow the money” like it was Watergate:
BEHAR: Why are they doing it?
PORTER: For power. Everything is about power, and you could always trace it back to the money. You say that all the time.
BEHAR: Follow the money.
PORTER: It’s follow the money. Follow the power. Power at any cost.
Failing to explain why kids needed to take part in drag shows or attend them at all, Porter made the asinine deflection that “the leading cause of death in children are GUNS!” “They’re guns! I know it’s the morning and I’m not supposed to be screaming, but they’re guns!” he screamed.
“Not drag queens,” Whoopi Goldberg added. “Not drag queens! LEAVE US ALONE!” Porter shrieked at the top of his lungs.
His next conspiratorial dip involved his poor vocabulary and how he had supposedly never heard the word “codified” before Roe v. Wade was overturned:
You know, our justice system is convoluted. It’s hard to understand on purpose. Let’s be clear about that. It’s on purpose. You know, it was like when we were talking about Roe v. Wade, that word “codified” came up. I was, like, what is that?! And y’all didn’t do it for 50 years?!
“It’s a distraction on purpose. We don’t know what to pay attention to … What’s happening?! … What are we talking about, and what are we doing?!” he continued to come off the rails. “We’re already in a civil war, y’all! It’s a civil war of the mind! They’re messing with our minds! We’re already in it!”
This crazed hyperventilating by Porter got nothing but praise from The View cast. “But you’re making the right points,” Hostin said, with Behar proclaiming: “The civil war on the mind is a very good point.”
The View’s approval of Billy Porter’s unhinged tirade was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Pfizer and General Mills. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click “expand” to read:
ABC’s The View
March 21, 2023
11:35:58 a.m. Eastern(…)
JOY BEHAR: When you were here in July of 2022 —
BILLY PORTER: Yes.
BEHAR: — we talked about how Florida Governor DeSantis filed a complaint against a bar called the R House that holds drag shows. Okay? Eight months later, things have only escalated. As we talk about it, you know, it’s constant aggravation with this. What do you make of the fact that we’re still talking about this, and that it’s happening in other states too, not just Florida?
PORTER: Yeah, it’s —
BEHAR: There’s this war against trans people, which is –
PORTER: And LGBTQ+ people, and people who are othered.
WHOOP GOLDBERG: And cabaret people.
PORTER: And cabaret people. It’s a circle of life.
BEHAR: Why are they doing it?
PORTER: For power. Everything is about power, and you could always trace it back to the money. You say that all the time.
BEHAR: Follow the money.
PORTER: It’s follow the money. Follow the power. Power at any cost. It’s very hypocritical, you know, the leading cause of death in children are GUNS! They’re guns! I know it’s the morning and I’m not supposed to be screaming, but they’re guns!
GOLDBERG: Not drag queens.
PORTER: Not drag queens! LEAVE US ALONE! You know, and it just — it’s a distraction. It’s a distraction on purpose. We don’t know what to pay attention to.
You know, our justice system is convoluted. It’s hard to understand on purpose. Let’s be clear about that. It’s on purpose. You know, it was like when we were talking about Roe v. Wade, that word “codified” came up. I was, like, what is that?! And y’all didn’t do it for 50 years?!
What’s happening?! You know, subpoenas. If any one of us is subpoenaed and we don’t go, we end up in jail, right?
SUNNY HOSTIN: You get a little perp walk.
PORTER: What are we talking about, and what are we doing?! And everybody is so scared because, “oh, if we do that, we might have a civil war.” We’re already in a civil war, y’all! It’s a civil war of the mind! They’re messing with our minds! We’re already in it, you know! I’m sorry. Y’all — you get me on this show, y’all get me so riled up! I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
HOSTIN: But you’re making the right points.
BEHAR: The civil war on the mind is a very good point.
PORTER: It’s already here!
HOSTIN: It’s not physically happening.
PORTER: No, not yet.
HOSTIN: January 6, we saw a taste of it.
PORTER: Yeah.
(…)