UFC fighter yells 'Michelle Obama is a man' at Trump's birthday spectacle

This story originally appeared on Them.

If you need confirmation that transphobia is alive and well at the White House, look no further than the South Lawn.

After his victory at Sunday night’s UFC Freedom 250 event honoring Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, heavyweight Josh Hokit threw a fist in the air and shouted into a microphone held by podcaster Joe Rogan, “And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America!?”

Hokit’s comment drew a smattering of whoops and hollers from the audience, but didn’t seem to elicit the response he had been hoping for.

Rogan didn’t respond to or acknowledge Hokit’s outburst, instead following up with, “Ladies and gentlemen, Josh Hokit,” per Variety.

Hokit is known for his antics and outsized demeanor. The MMA fighter fake-vomited on his chest during the Saturday weigh-in ceremony, blaming the previous night’s drinking. And, during a June 12 press ceremony, Hokit interrupted several other fighters to answer questions not directed at him, per Variety.

The idea that Michelle Obama is transgender has been a right-wing meme and conspiracy theory on the internet for over a decade. The fringe theory began with a February 2013 YouTube video, which quickly gained traction in right-wing circles. By July 2014, Alex Jones was spreading the transphobic lie about Obama’s gender identity on his then-show Infowars. That same month, Joan Rivers told a reporter unprompted that Barack Obama is gay and used the T-slur to reference Michelle Obama.

CNN reported that Trump seemed to “half-smile” following Hokit’s transphobic outburst. Trump is no stranger to conspiracy theories about the Obamas, given that he is the most public advocate of the birtherism movement, which cast doubts on whether Barack Obama was born an American citizen. (And in terms of sheer racist vitriol, Trump also shared a video depicting the Obamas as apes on his Truth Social account in February.)

Hokit’s comment is just another way in which fringe conspiracy theories have made its way to the White House, except many others are spouted by actual members of the Trump administration, including vaccine skepticism, lies about election security, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s apparent belief in chemtrails.

Despite the UFC event’s extreme unpopularity — just 16% of Americans approved of it, according to a Reuters poll — several brands lined up to sponsor the event, including the controversy-ridden Bud Light.