Josh Johnson stunned “The Daily Show” studio audience Wednesday evening with a joke claiming the FBI was to blame for the death of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
The comedian’s jab came as he recapped the FBI Director Kash Patel’s recent Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, where he struggled to answer questions regarding the agency’s lowered hiring standards, including a softer stance on bestiality.
“I’m sorry, the what now? Did I miss an episode?” Johnson quipped during the segment. “You know, things have gone off the rails when someone has to ask, ‘What about the bestiality?’”
He continued: “But apparently, what happened was, earlier in the hearing, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin wanted to ask Patel about a recent decision to loosen standards for FBI recruits. And I guess one particularly loose new standard kind of jumped out.”
As Johnson went on, he roasted the new standard, suggesting it should’ve been “only needs to do 20 push-ups, and not, can’t go to a petting zoo wearing gym shorts.” He further mocked Patel for trying to explain that the original standard, “automatically disqualified any individual who participated on either side of it,” leaving Johnson to wonder if there was “a big problem from the animal’s side.”
“How is the head of the FBI losing an interrogation about animal sex?” he said, “What a fall from grace for the FBI, you know? Like, y’all used to be the cream of the crop. The Bureau was the Dream Team and America’s finest law enforcement agency.”
Here’s where Johnson briefly lost the “Daily Show” crowd, as he quipped: “I mean, y’all killed Dr. King.”
At this moment, a several gasps were heard, as well as a round of awkward laughter. (For the record, James Earl Ray was convicted of assassinating MLK Jr. in March 1969, after he after pleaded guilty.)
Johnson quickly recovered, however, adding, “J. Edgar Hoover must be rolling over in his dress right now.”
“And by the way, I’m not the only one wondering why Kash Patel made bestiality an issue in the FBI at all. Senator Kennedy and I had the same questions,” Johnson said, as the “Daily Show” played footage of Patel defending that the agency is “not into bestiality.”
“OK, now I definitely think Kash is into bestiality,” he ripped. “Why do I get the feeling there’s a video of Kash Patel partying in the locker room of the Westminster Dog Show? He’s just sitting there like, ‘Yeah, labradoodle, let’s go!’”
He added: “I’m not saying he does it personally, but like, maybe his mom had an affair with an owl?! It would explain a lot.”
Watch Johnson’s full monologue above. A representative for the FBI did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“The Daily Show” airs weeknights at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.
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