Critics are branding Stephen Colbert a homophobe over a joke he made about President Trump on Monday night's Late Show.

The episode, filmed at the end of President Trump's first 100 days in office, ended in a long-winded attack against the commander-in-chief - who he called a "pricktator" who attracts "more skinheads than free Rogaine", the Daily Mail reports.

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What critics took issue with was Colbert's comments about President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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"You talk like a sign language gorilla who got hit in the head. In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c**k holster," Colbert said.

At the mention of the term "c**k holster", the entire audience - which had been laughing through the more than 12-minute monologue - erupted into gasps.

The reaction was so loud that Colbert had to wait for them to settle back down to finish the rest of his speech.

The reaction online was just as pointed. Immediately, Trump supporters started branding Colbert a homophobe and called for CBS to fire him.

Others supported Colbert, expressing their feeling that the late night host did not intend to offend the gay community.