Numerous right-wing figures, including Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), have referred to so-called wokeness as a virus, or the “woke mind virus.” Twitter owner Elon Musk went as far as to suggest that “woke mind virus will destroy civilization” unless it is stopped.
During his guest hosting gig on “The Daily Show” this week, Penn reprised his role as Lawrence Kutner, a doctor in the hit medical drama “House,” to help treat patients with the fictional disease.
“Republicans are terrified of the woke mind virus,” Penn said as he introduced the skit. “I mean, to be clear: not terrified enough to support public health care to treat it, but terrified.”
According to Penn’s Kutner, symptoms of infection include not being “pissed off that Mr. Potato Head doesn’t have a penis,” believing racism exists and expressing apathy about a trans kid participating in school sports.
