Mark Hamill and George Takei Roast Ben Shapiro for Absurd “Lesbians in Space” Take

Another one of Ben Shapiro’s random digs at queer people has spectacularly backfired. When Shapiro decided to rant about the mechanics of space flight and lesbians—two things he knows nothing about—he was roundly mocked online, including by space dad Luke Skywalker himself.

During a recent episode of his podcast, The Ben Shapiro Show, the right-wing pundit landed on the topic of the delayed Artemis I launch. Artemis I’s mission to the moon had to be rescheduled due to a malfunction in one of the rocket engines and inclement weather

Deciding that he knows better than NASA, Shapiro dismissed this explanation and blamed President Biden, wokeness, and hypothetical lesbians. In a viral clip shared by Jason Campbell, a senior researcher for Media Matters, Shapiro speculates that Biden’s so-called “equity agenda” has resulted in nominally-appointed lesbian astronauts who mishandled the launch.

Ben Shapiro mocks the notion of queer astronauts going to the moon: “Lesbians on the moon. This is what we need. It sounds like a bad pornography” pic.twitter.com/0XuJ3jr2jZ

— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) August 30, 2022

“The really important thing is that, when we do go to the moon, we have to have a lesbian on the moon. Lesbians on the moon! This is what we need,” he mocked. “It sounds like a bad pornography.”

“I don’t know why that’s the key to space exploration,” Shapiro went on. “I thought it would be, you know, the most qualified people that we ought to send to space.”

Shapiro’s lack of research on the subject (shockingly uncharacteristic of him) was clear to anyone with eyes and access to Google. The Artemis I shuttle to the moon is an unmanned test flight (instead of lesbian astronauts, it will contain mannequin pilots and mementos like Girl Scout badges, LEGOs, and Snoopy). More importantly, lesbians have already been to the moon. Dr. Sally Ride, who became the first woman in space in 1983, was both a lesbian and thoroughly qualified.

A lesbian physicist earned the presidential medal of freedom, a NASA space flight medal, the von Braun award, the Lindbergh Eagle and the Theodore Roosevelt award.

Dr. Sally Ride spent over 340 hours in space.

Ben Shapiro is a fucking clown. https://t.co/DScP8JjuZk

— Emmett Initiative (@Emm_Initiative) August 31, 2022

TFW you don’t know the first American woman in space was a lesbian. Sally Ride.

It’s like… learn a thing. ANY thing. https://t.co/LWuhEyynUH

— ⚓️Imani Two-Kitchens Gandy⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) August 31, 2022

Just another day of queer folks getting blamed for literally anything gone wrong. But on the bright side, the awful take made for some good laughs on Twitter.

To be perfectly clear, please define what sounds like good pornography to you. https://t.co/wmAPg8aA3u

— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) August 30, 2022

Guys like Ben Shapiro make a lot of women wish they were lesbians on the moon. https://t.co/4YJj7kCSQB

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 30, 2022

Does Ben know that lesbians exist in the real world and not just on PornHub?https://t.co/H3pzzfvsId

— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) August 30, 2022

If it means getting as far away as possible from Ben Shapiro, I will volunteer for the next lunar mission. https://t.co/01uMLtBYkc

— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) August 30, 2022

Imaginary incompetent lesbians aside, the Artemis I launch will proceed on Saturday, September 3. “We will learn a great deal from the Artemis I test flight,” said mission manager Mike Sarafin in a press conference, reported by NPR. “And through this experience, we will change and modify anything necessary to prepare ourselves for a crewed flight on the very next mission.”