Pelosi: I’m called a ‘villain’ all the time, so it’s okay to use it back

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) isn’t much for calling names, but defended calling health insurers “villains” this past week.

“I don’t like using words like ‘villains,’ but people call me a villain all the time, so I figure it’s probably okay to use it back,” Pelosi said in an interview on Bloomberg News airing this weekend.

Pelosi went after insurers at her weekly press conference this past week, attracting headlines for calling them “villains.”

“It’s almost immoral what they are doing,” she said. “They are the villains. They have been part of the problem in a major way.”

Pelosi continued her campaign against the companies in her interview this weekend.

“The American people have been at their mercy,” she said. “It is important for us to have this legislation that puts leverage back in the hands of the American people.”