J.D. Vance Under Fire After Laughing at Crude Slur While Promoting His Faith Memoir on Fox News — As Veep Says 'I'll Either Be Killed or Unelectable If I Answer That'
J.D. Vance faced backlash after laughing at a crude joke while promoting his new faith memoir on Fox News.
June 17 2026, Published 11:47 a.m. ET
Vice President J.D. Vance is under fire after laughing along with a crude joke while promoting his new memoir about faith on Fox News, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The controversy deepened later in the evening when the veep quipped he would be "killed or unelectable" if he responded to another comment about sexuality.
Finding Faith
The vice president spent June 16 making media appearances for 'Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.'
Vance's new book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, was published on June 16 by HarperCollins.
The 41-year-old Republican has described the memoir as a deeply personal account of his conversion to Catholicism after spending years as an atheist.
While appearing as a guest co-host on The Five, Vance told Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino and Jessica Tarlov: "I have to say, look, I've been on the show for a half an hour. This is appropriate, it's about faith and religion. Y'all need Jesus! That's my takeaway after 30 minutes."
The vice president spent much of the hour discussing the economy, Iran and other Donald Trump administration priorities while also promoting the newly released book.
'Too Gay'
On 'The Five,' Jesse Watters joked that serving Vance a fudge cake for National Fudge Day would have been 'too gay.'
The controversy erupted near the end of the program during the show's "One More Thing" segment.
After noting it was National Fudge Day, Watters introduced a cake prepared for Vance and joked: "We got pickle cake here, dozens of layers of creamy green frosting."
He then added: "I was gonna do fudge [cake], because it's National Fudge Day, for the VP, but I thought it'd be too gay, so I did pickle cake instead."
"I'm not sure if I got it right," Watters continued.
Vance seemed to be amused by the remark, laughing before thanking the Fox News host for the cake.
However, Watters sparked criticism online as his comment appeared to allude to a crude homophobic slur historically directed at gay men.
"He didn't have to say or do like... any of that. (What) the h--l is wrong with him?" an online critic asked about Watters after the comment.
'Killed or Unelectable'
The vice president later joined Greg Gutfeld's Fox News program as part of his ongoing book tour.
The awkward moments didn't end there. Later that evening, Vance appeared on Gutfeld's Fox News show as part of his ongoing book tour.
During a discussion about Trump's reported peace deal with Iran, Gutfeld referenced rumors surrounding the country's supreme leader and asked: "We're looking at this new deal, VP, and I'm wondering, did we sign the deal because the new Ayatollah is gay and we wanted to focus on Pride Month?"
Vance threw his head back, laughing before responding: "I'm glad I decided to ruin my political career by spending an hour here. I'll either be killed or unelectable if I answer that."
As the clip circulated online, more critics called out the vice president's behavior.
One user said, "Vance is annoying. I’m sick of seeing him," as another added, "Fakest laugh I’ve ever seen."
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Past Remarks Resurface
The controversy renewed attention on Vance's past opposition to same-sex marriage protections and transgender rights.
The Fox News controversy also shined a spotlight on Vance's past comments about LGBTQ+ issues. Vance has repeatedly drawn criticism for his views on same s-- marriage and transgender rights.
Since entering the Trump administration, the vice president has opposed the Respect for Marriage Act, the bipartisan legislation enacted to safeguard same-s-- marriage protections.
"Most Americans, I think, don't really care about same-s-- marriage," Vance told Business Insider in 2024.
