Fresh off the biggest victory of his UFC career, heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit used his post-fight interview at the White House to make a transphobic jab at former first lady Michelle Obama.Speaking with Joe Rogan on the South Lawn on Sunday night, Hokit repeated a long-debunked far-right conspiracy theory that claims Obama was born a man.“Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?” Hokit said unprompted, after shouting out his “lord and savior Jesus Christ” and giving props to birthday boy President Donald Trump for hosting the event. (See the clip here.) Hokit, who has described himself as “100% transphobic,” has a history of accusing women of being men as a random insult during his post-fight speeches. Usually, it’s women of color he targets. Besides the former first lady, he’s also claimed WNBA star Brittney Griner is a man.As the Guardian reported, the crude remark drew cheers from some sections of the crowd and “bewilderment from others.”Trump and the White House have yet to denounce Hokit’s on-brand remarks. Ignoring a question about the incident, White House spokesperson Steven Cheung instead praised the UFC fighter’s “great win” and toughness during the fight, CNN’s Jake Tapper said Monday on X.Dan Bongino, who served as the deputy director of the FBI from March 2025 to January 2026, told TMZ that Hokit’s comment was “hilarious.”Anadolu via Getty ImagesJosh Hokit speaks with President Donald Trump following his win in a heavyweight fight during the "UFC Freedom 250" event at the White House on Sunday.At least UFC CEO Dana White wasn’t a fan. Via text, he told Time magazine, “I understand that the Obama’s are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families”That kind of “nonsense” is nothing new for those on the far right, who have a habit of “transvestigating” women in power, especially if they’re women of color. As HuffPost previously reported, some corners of the internet are convinced that certain public figures – Obama, Griner, First Lady of France Brigitte Macron, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif – are secretly men. This year, the people who thrive in these dark places even targeted Erika Kirk, the wife of slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, and pointed to photos from her childhood where she looked a little tomboyish. The politically motivated conspiracies about Obama started during her husband’s presidency and have repeatedly been debunked. Online, those committed to the transphobic bit continue to post photos of the former first lady that are manipulated to make her features appear more masculine. They also get a kick out of calling her “Big Mike.” Others claim that former President Obama is gay, and that their children, Malia and Sasha Obama, now 27 and 25, were conceived by surrogate parents.The fact that such conspiracies and transphobia are now being voiced on the White House lawn and laughed off by some is “appalling,” said Kari J. Winter, professor of American studies at the University at Buffalo.“The question is why the world is forced to witness the most vile, infantile behavior on display in the place that was for centuries the revered heart of American democracy?” said Winters. “It’s shameful.” Jeff Bottari via Getty Images / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU via Getty ImagesThe fact that Black women are disproportionately targeted is predictable, according to professor Jay Daniel Thompson, because many of these claims draw on racist ideas and source material. Jay Daniel Thompson, a senior lecturer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria, Australia, who researches conspiracy theories and digital hostility, said the mainstreaming of transvestigations is worth calling out. “These [conspiracies] are no longer relegated to murky, reactionary corners on the internet,” said Thompson, who previously told HuffPost these claims reflect an increasing and well-documented global hostility toward the trans and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as women.“Transvestigation is premised on stereotypes of trans women as freakish, deceptive and untrustworthy,” he added. “These conspiracies target women in the public eye, seeking to demean those women and diminish their credibility. This suggests that transvestigations are not just transphobic; they’re also deeply misogynistic.”For transphobes and shit posters alike, no insult could be as cutting to a successful woman as saying she looks like a man. And the trans community is an easy target. Historically, conspiracists tend to blame already marginalized groups for a variety of social ills, which is evident in the transvestigation phenomenon, as trans people continue to face increased levels of violence and discrimination.Transvestigations tend to target women of colorThe fact that Black women are disproportionately targeted is predictable, according to Thompson, because many of these claims draw on racist ideas and source material.“Transvestigators” draw on phrenology, a 19th and early 20th century racist pseudoscience asserting that the shape and measurements of the human skull determined personality traits and intelligence. European scientists of the time manipulated measurements to claim that European skulls were “superior,” while labeling African, Indigenous and Asian populations as inherently inferior or even prone to criminality based on physical features of the skull. Inevitably, phrenology was weaponized to justify racism, classism and colonialism.Today, transvestigators similarly use skeletal and cranial overlays to identify what they claim are masculine physical characteristics of famous women. In addition, some point to body language and posture as telltale gender giveaways.While the conservative shit posters occasionally eat their own with these conspiracies ― Erika Kirk and “Euphoria” actor Sydney Sweeney have both been transvestigated as of late ― they generally tend to focus on women on the left.It’s not that the left isn’t prone to calling a woman opponent ugly or mannish. It happens. But the negative connotations the far right attaches to trans identities are precisely why there isn’t much transvestigating on the left, or among people who are more neutral or supportive toward trans people, Samantha Lux, a trans activist and content creator, previously told HuffPost. “If you don’t view being trans as a bad thing, then what need would you have to ‘expose’ someone’s identity?” Lux said.If you’re racist, transphobic and want to “own the libs,” these transvestigations are too good an opportunity to pass up. But the fact that such transphobic attacks are now happening at the White House, without a peep of objection from the president or Republican leadership, is deeply troubling, Thompson said. “It reflects the normalization of abuse against women in the public eye,” he said. “Hokit clearly wanted a cheap laugh and he got it, though he was also booed, which is encouraging. But it’s notable, and unsurprising, that neither Hokit or Trump have apologized.”