ICE 'Superman' star Dean Cain fires back at John Oliver after career diss

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Superman star Dean Cain is clapping back at John Oliver after the late-night host mocked him for joining the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

During an episode of Last Week Tonight, Oliver made fun of Cain for signing up to help deport illegal migrants.

“You know, there’s an old saying in Hollywood: ‘If all you can get is Dean Cain, you are f***ed,’” Oliver said this week. 

“Now, I’m not saying that ICE isn’t finding people,” he continued. “I’m just saying, when you are reduced to pinning a badge on the 59-year-old star of The Dog Who Saved Christmas, The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation, The Dog Who Saved the Holidays, The Dog Who Saved Halloween, The Dog Who Saved Easter and The Dog Who Saved Summer, maybe you are in trouble. Although, on the plus side, no need for that guy to wear a mask because the chances of anyone recognizing him are f***ing zero.”

Later in the episode, Oliver offered up some free advice for viewers if they are approached by ICE agents.

“Attorneys told us the only two things you should say to them are: ‘Am I free to leave?’ And ‘I want to speak to a lawyer.’ That’s it. You have the right to remain silent,” Oliver shared. “And I recognize that in some cases you may be unable to help yourself from saying: ‘Didn’t you used to be Superman? I thought you died.’ … But that really is it.”

Oliver’s assessment of Cain echoed actor John Leguizamo’s own sour appraisal of the Lois & Clark actor.

“What kinda loser volunteers to be an ICE officer? What a moron,” Leguizamo said in a video posted to Instagram. “Dean Cain, your pronouns are has/been.”

Stand-up comic Margaret Cho also blasted Cain, touching on his Japanese heritage.

“Why would you join ICE and encourage people to join ICE when your ancestors were interred in World War II?” Cho asked in an Instagram video. “You’re Japanese. You’re not even white… You’re never gonna be white, no matter how racist you are…”

In a response posted to X after Oliver’s criticism started to make the rounds, Cain fired back. “He stole that mask joke from the internet — and he also laughed hysterically when Trump said he was going to run for president. Case closed. (and those movies were sweet, by the way!)”

Cain, who is an avid supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, posted a video to social media last week urging his fellow Americans to join ICE and help rid their country of illegals.

“I felt it was important to join with our first responders to help secure the safety of all Americans, not just talk about it, so I joined up,” Cain said. The actor then went into full pitchman mode, touting the benefits of joining ICE, including a hefty salary.

“Since President Trump took office, ICE has arrested hundreds of thousands of criminals, including terrorists, rapists, murderers, pedophiles, MS-13 gang members, drug traffickers, you name it. Very dangerous people, who are no longer on the street,” Cain continued.

“You can defend your homeland and get great benefits, like a $50,000 signing bonus … think about that,” he continued. Other signees could get up to $60,000 to help with student loan forgiveness, Cain added, with even more money “for those in the field operations and law enforcement roles.”

“If you want to help save America, ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America’s streets,” Cain concluded. “I like that. I voted for that. We need your help to protect our homeland and families.”

Trump signed a $150-billion border-security package last month with Bloomberg reporting that 80,000 people have applied to join ICE since the president kickstarted his recruitment drive.

Posters featuring slogans like “Defend the Homeland” and “America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out” have popped up on college campuses and social media.

Since taking office in January, Trump has made immigration enforcement one of the focal points of his administration. According to NBC News, the number of people in detention is at an all-time high with more than 56,000 illegal migrants currently in ICE custody.

In an interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters, Cain said America has “a broken immigration system.” 

“Congress needs to fix it, but in the interim, President Trump ran on this. He is delivering on this. This is what people voted for. It’s what I voted for, and he’s going to see it through, and I’ll do my part and help make sure it happens,” Cain said.

mdaniell@postmedia.com