Chelsea Handler under fire for joke about closeted Republican Senator ‘sucking dick’
Comedian Chelsea Handler (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
TV host Cheslea Handler is under fire over a joke about Republican Senator Lindsey Graham being in the closet.
The comedian, who hosts her own Netflix talk show Chelsea, took to Twitter to criticise Graham – who was once one of Donald Trump’s biggest critics inside the GOP party, but has since become an unfailing defender of the President.
Handler quipped that his apparent change of tone was due to blackmail from allies of Trump, who have evidence of Graham’s long-rumoured homosexuality.
Actress Chelsea Handler (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for amfAR)
She wrote: “Holy, fuck fuck. I just the video of trumps bipartisan “meeting” yesterday. Hey, @LindseyGrahamSC what kind of dick sucking video do they have on you for you 2 be acting like this? Wouldn’t coming out be more honorable?”
Conservatives have rushed to criticise Handler for the joke, despite the usual anti-LGBT stance of Republican lawmakers.
Strangely, none of the conservatives laying into Handler appear to have condemned hardline Republican Mike Huckabee, when he made a homophobic joke about Graham last year.
Huckabee said: “I’m very disappointed in Lindsey.”
In an apparent reference to the Senator’s sexuality, he said: “I sometimes wonder what uniform he puts on each morning when goes out to the field to play… and I’m not just talking about the partisan uniform.”
Graham – an opponent of LGBT rights who has never been married and has no children – has previously denied rumours about his sexuality after being branded “ambiguously gay” by a Republican primary opponent.
During an ill-fated bid for President, Graham claimed he would rotate the position of First Lady between his female friends and family members.
TV personality Chelsea Handler (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Spike TV)
He said: “Well, I’ve got a sister. She could play that role if necessary
“I’ve got a lot of friends. We’ll have a rotating first lady.”
Responding to rumours about his sexuality on a previous occasion, Graham joked about whether he was having a secret affair with Ricky Martin.
He joked: “Maybe I’m having a clandestine affair with Ricky Martin. I know it’s really gonna upset a lot of gay men — I’m sure hundreds of ’em are gonna be jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge — but I ain’t available. I ain’t gay. Sorry.”
Graham is a staunch opponent of gay rights – opposing the lifting of the ban on gay people in the military, opposing same-sex marriage, and opposing LGBT rights legislation.
He previously questioned why same-sex marriage should be allowed and not polygamy, asking the Attorney General: “What legal rationale would be in play that would prohibit polygamy?
“Could you try to articulate how one could be banned under the Constitution and the other not?”
The Senator has also opposed discrimination protections for people on the basis of sexual orientation.
He is a reported opponent of the Equality Act, Democrat-backed legislation to introduce civil rights protections in employment and public accommodations for LGBT people.
