MSNBC's Lawrence O’Donnell Implies That Glenn Beck and Rep. Paul Ryan Are Gay

(By Tommy Christopher, Mediaite) - The problem of stigmatizing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people is a deadly serious issue that I’ve written about repeatedly. While liberals are generally considered to be more LGBT-friendly than conservatives, at least policy-wise, liberals aren’t automatically above an lgbt-phobic insult. Even with that knowledge, I was shocked by the shot that Lawrence O’Donnell took at Glenn Beck and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), during the intro to Tuesday night’s 'The Last Word', mocking the pair as gay.

In the closing seconds of the opening montage for the show, O’Donnell says, “The Republican budget plan softens Glenn Beck’s feelings about gay marriage,” before playing a clip of Beck telling Ryan, “I love you,” and Ryan returning the sentiment. To make matters worse, O’Donnell never even used the audio during his show, and included it in the opening for the sole purpose of this gag.