Bill O’Reilly Regarding Gays: “God made the[m]… that way, and I agree.”
June 12, 2009
Host Bill O'Reilly and guest Dennis Miller on the June 10th broadcast of The O'Reilly Factor.
Is Bill O’Reilly changing his tune on gays?
On the June 10th broadcast of The O’Reilly Factor, O’Reilly said things like “God made the[m]. . . that way, and I agree” and “I don’t know what’s happening to our society. . . I’m not one of those guys that thinks you should be converting anyone to anything. . .[i]f they’re happy, they’re happy.”
Then again, he and his guest, Dennis Miller, were discussing lesbian penguins, not gay and lesbian people (and making jokes at the expense of transgender folks, too).
See the full clip here:
O’Reilly has a history of comparing marriage equality to inter-species marriage, polygamy and incest, and has made our Worst Anti-LGBT Voices of the Year list for the last two years. Recently while speaking to a guest, Margaret Hoover, on a May 12 broadcast about extending marriage to same-sex couples, O’Reilly told her:
“[Y]ou would let everybody get married who wants to get married. You want to marry a turtle, you can.”
And last year, O’Reilly said that Americans don’t want to see “homosexual behavior legitimized” in an on-air tirade against Whoopi Goldberg’s brief kiss with Katy Perry on The View in July 2008.
But he also concluded during his June 10 show that an attempt at so-called “conversion” therapy for a group of lesbian penguins at a zoo in Bremen, Germany, was inappropriate:
I don’t know — it’s — I don’t what’s happening to our society, [Dennis] Miller, which is why I’m discussing this with you. No. 1, if the penguin is gay, leave the penguin alone. God made the penguin that way. And I agree. I mean, I’m not one of these guys that thinks you should be converting anybody to anything … So why is the Bremen Zoo trying to make these penguins straight if, indeed, they are gay? Why bother? You know what I’m talking about? If they’re happy, they’re happy.
Will this compassion and support for lesbian penguins lead Bill O’Reilly to have more compassion and support for loving and committed same-sex couples? Will he begin to realize same-sex couples are no different than their straight friends, family or neighbors and that they should be able to take care of and be responsible for their spouse just the same as any other family?
One could only hope….
Related Posts:Bill O’Reilly’s Evolution – Marriage Equality “Thing” Will Lead to Unions With A “Goat,” “Duck,” “Turtle,” “Dolphin”
May 13, 2009
Media Matters for America has long documented Fox News Host Bill O’Reilly’s ongoing fascination with what he sees as a causal link between marriage equality and inter-species marriages.
Yesterday, he made yet another reference on his show, The O’Reilly Factor. Speaking to guest Margaret Hoover, he said:
O’Reilly: Hoover, you would let everybody get married who want to get married. You want to marry a turtle, you can.
You can watch the segment below:
Back in 2005, Media Matters had taken notice of similar commentary from O’Reilly, but then it was goats. From the March 29, 2005, edition of The Radio Factor:
O’Reilly: The judges in Massachusetts knew they weren’t going to be impeached when they said to the state legislature, “Gay marriage is now legal in Massachusetts because we say it is. We the judges” — they knew they weren’t gonna be impeached. They knew the legislature didn’t care. You get the government you deserve. In California, the prevailing wisdom is marijuana is no big deal, let’s legalize it. And since we can’t get that through the legislature, we’ll do it this way. And they did it! You see?
And 10 years, this is gonna be a totally different country than it is right now. Laws that you think are in stone — they’re gonna evaporate, man. You’ll be able to marry a goat — you mark my words!
A few weeks later, O’Reilly continued with his goat fixation on the April 13, 2005, edition of The Radio Factor:
Now, there was another request up there from a woman — prisoner, inmate, convict — who wanted to marry another woman who’s not in prison. And, I guess they’re still mullin’ that over. No, it was denied — no, I’m sorry, they’re mullin’ it over — no, it was approved! Oooh, no, look at this! The other request was approved because it involved the marriage of a female inmate to a woman who’s not in prison. See, I woulda denied that. I’d have said, “When you get outta prison, you can marry her.” But not here. This isn’t pre-Cana [Catholic premarital counseling] prison — all right, you can’t do that. See, I’m not buyin’ into any of this politically correct nonsense. If you’re a prisoner, you’re a convict, you lose your rights until you get out. So, I’m sorry. We’re not lettin’ you get married, not gonna let you drive a car, you can’t vote. You’re in — you’re in, that’s it.
So this is just the beginning, ladies and gentlemen, of this crazy gay marriage insanity — is gonna lead to all kinds of things like this. Courts are gonna be clogged. Every nut in the world is gonna — somebody’s gonna come in and say, “I wanna marry the goat.” You’ll see it; I guarantee you’ll see it.
By the September 14, 2005, edition of his radio show, O’Reilly had moved on to ducks:
The secular progressive movement would like to have marriage abolished, in my opinion. They don’t want it, because it is not diverse enough. You know, that’s what this gay marriage thing is all about. But now, you know, the poly-amorphous marriage, whatever they call it, you can marry 18 people, you can marry a duck…
Click here for the audio, courtesy of Media Matters.
In between the turtles of 2009 and the goats and ducks of 2005, came the dolphins of 2006. From the January 4, 2006, edition of The O’Reilly Factor, where he compared marriage equality to a woman marrying a dolphin:
One of the arguments against gay marriage, that we just spoke about, is that if it becomes law, all other alternative marital visions will be allowed. We’ve already seen a Dutchman marry two ladies in the Netherlands. Looks like a happy guy. And now comes word that a British woman has married a dolphin in Israel. Forty-one-year-old Sharon Tendler has tied the knot with a 35-year-old mammal, so age is no problem there.
Click here to watch the video.
As Media Matters wryly noted, Tendler’s “marriage” was not legally recognized:
According to an Associated Press report, Tendler’s “marriage” was not a legal one. She reportedly “still kept open the option of ‘marrying human’ at some stage,” but, “she said for now she was strictly a ‘one-dolphin woman,’ ” and that she “hope[s] he has a lot of baby dolphins with the other dolphins. The more dolphins the better.”
Also, the Dutchman O’Reilly referred to was also not legally married according to sources who actually researched the case.
For facts and more information on marriage equality, please head over to www.FreedomToMarry.org and read through GLAAD’s Talking About series.
Fox News: The O’Reilly Factor – Dennis Miller on Barney Frank
November 13, 2008
On The O’Reilly Factor with Bill O’Reilly, comedian Dennis Miller makes a suggestive comment that openly gay congressman and Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, might “want to be arrested.” The comment was followed by laughter and looks of disgust from both Miller and O’Reilly.
11.12.08 08:50 pm
Newsday Explores Hate Speech and Hate Violence
August 14, 2008
When a man walked into the Tennesse Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville and started shooting “because of its liberal teachings” on July 27, media coverage rightly focused on the tragedy, and also drew attention to the anti-gay sentiments held by the shooter, who murdered two church members and seriously wounded seven others.
Yesterday, Jenna Kern-Rugile at Newsday took the story one step further to ask if hate-speech-fueled media played any role in creating a climate where the violence inflicted upon the LGBT-friendly church was more likely to occur. The shooter was an avid consumer of shock jocks with a track record of virulently – and sometimes violent – anti-gay sentiments (Kern-Rugile lists Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and Michael Savage). The article, however, makes a larger point about the cultural climate that tolerates virulently anti-gay rhetoric. Rory O’ Connor, an author of a study on shock jocks and hate speech, noted to Newsday: “Sure these guys hold some responsibility for what happened, but we all hold responsibility – particularly anyone who hasn’t stood up and spoken out against hate speech.”
The Newsday piece asks some interesting questions about the media’s role in creating an anti-gay climate, but it leaves many unanswered. As Kern-Rugile herself points out: “Crazy people can always find some inspiration for their actions, be it a book or a dog or a rock band.” No matter what the cause of the shooter’s actions, we encourage other media outlets to examine exactly how fair and accurate their own coverage of the LGBT community is. As more corporations recognize and are attuned to the needs of their LGBT employees – and consumers – they will have to become accountable for the content they put out.
Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy.
