David Geffen Turned Against Hillary Clinton Over 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

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.”