Actor Katt Williams makes wild claim that ‘transgenderism’ originates from Baphomet – it does not
Actor Katt Williams appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast on 29 February and made some startling claims about the deity Baphomet (YouTube/Getty)
Stand up comedian and actor Katt Williams – who previously had to apologise for making anti-Mexican statements – stopped by “anti-woke” podcaster Joe Rogan’s show on 29 February to make a startling claim.
In an at-times rambling, smoke-wreathed interview, Williams told Rogan that, two decades ago, he had encountered the word “transgender” for the first time in the context of the demon Baphomet, and added that in the ritual of “Baphomet the transgender”, to “show allegiance to him” you had to “kiss his ass ring”.
He said that he knew “transgenders” were going to be a “thing” twenty years ago because of this.
OK, yes, a few transgender TikTokers have adopted Baphomet as an ironic, unofficial trans mascot, but what is Baphomet and is this “demon” really linked to satanism, or “transgenderism”?
The short answer is no. Baphomet is not even considered to be a satanic symbol – and the LGBTQ+ and trans communities are definitely not satanic either.
Baphomet is a deity that was originally linked to the Knights Templar, a military order of the Catholic faith founded in 1119 AD.
It is considered to be an iconic occult symbol, sometimes considered to be a demon, that was worshipped by the Knights Templar and other mystical, pseudo-religious traditions.
The reason why Baphomet has now been considered a symbol of the trans community is because of a image of drawn by Éliphas Lévi in 1856, who wanted to symbolise balance, and therefore portrayed Baphomet to be a hermaphrodite with both male and female sexual characteristics, half-human and half-animal, and representing both good and evil.
Because of its androgynous features and representation of balance, some trans people on TikTok have been making videos explaining Baphomet, joking about the deity being their mascot, and one person even crocheted a Baphomet doll in the colours of the trans flag.
To be honest, there’s not much more to it than that.
Lévi’s illustration showed Baphomet as half-goat and since the goat has been previously considered a symbol of satanism, Baphomet was later adopted as the official symbol of the Church of Satan and continues to be used among satanists.
But Baphomet itself is not considered to be an evil figure or symbol, and in fact, the Church of Satan considers itself to be an atheistic group who do not worship a literal Satan but rather what he stands for in the Christian tradition – pride, carnality, enlightenment, and individuality.
And, obviously, this has no bearing on the transgender community.
The trans and LGBTQ+ communities aren’t religious organisations, so they are not represented by nor do they represent any deity – or even have any affiliation with deities, no matter what Norbit actor Katt Williams says.
