Apparently Bill Maher seems to believe the only people who care enough about marriage equality to oust a CEO are rich, powerful gays. On his show Friday, Maher suggested the “gay mafia” was to blame for the ouster of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, implying there is a group of powerful gays who dish out revenge against those who don’t agree with their politically correct views. Maher made the comment during the online-only Overtime portion of Real Time, when the host and his guests—former Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, Forbes magazine’s Carrie Sheffield, rapper Nas, and MSNBC’s Alex Wagner—discussed the way in which Eich was forced to step down because of his donation to support the campaign to pass Proposition 8 in California, reports Real Clear Politics.
During the discussion, Davis made a point to emphasize that Eich “gave $1,000 eight years ago and it’s come back to haunt him.” That’s when Sheffield chimed in to say the former CEO made the donation at a time “when President Obama was still against gay marriage. So, I don’t think it’s very fair.” Maher said that was a “good point” and added: “Also, I think there is a gay mafia. I think if you cross them, you do get whacked.”
As a side note, Towleroad points to a post by Jeremy Hooper that explains why comparing Eich to Obama isn’t a “good point” at all. Short version: Obama was never in favor of amending a constitution to limit rights. Plus, in Slate, Mark Joseph Stern reminds us that those who campaigned for Proposition 8 used “cruelly anti-gay propaganda” to make their point and often used children as props to make gay families seem “deviant and unhealthy.”
