Hollywood mogul David Geffen turned
against Hillary Clinton's presidential aspirations over “Don't Ask,
Don't Tell.”
The PBS documentary American
Masters: Inventing David Geffen covers Geffen's Hollywood rise
and his influence on American politics.
Geffen, who is openly gay, was an
enthusiastic supporter of President Bill Clinton, helping him raise
some $18 million.
But the compromise known as “Don't
Ask, Don't Tell” brokered by Clinton in addition to the pardon of
financier Marc Rich soured the relationship. The policy, which ended
during President Barack Obama's first term, barred gay and bisexual
troops from serving openly.
In 2008, Geffen abandoned Hillary
Clinton, backing then-Senator Obama as the Democratic nominee.
“Whoever is the nominee is going to
win, so the stakes are very high,” Geffen told the New York
Times' Maureen Dowd in 2007. “Not since the Vietnam War has
there been this level of disappointment in the behavior of America
throughout the world, and I don't think that another incredibly
polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is and no matter how
ambitious she is – and God knows, is there anybody more ambitious
than Hillary Clinton? – can bring this country together.”