Bill Maher rips Seattle candidate for dropping LGBT rights for Muslims

Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher tore into a Democratic congressional candidate in Seattle for abandoning a key liberal cause to better appeal to Muslim sensibilities.

Maher targeted Melissa Chaudhry, a progressive Democrat and self-described “White American convert to Islam” who is challenging longtime Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., in Washington’s 9th Congressional District.

“A few weeks ago, a liberal Democrat named Melissa Chaudhry, running for Congress in Seattle, was asked why, among the many progressive causes listed on her website, LGBT rights was conspicuously absent. Because, she said, ‘A lot of Muslims do not feel that way, unfortunately,’” he said.

“Is this the progressive policy now?” he asked, adding, “Is Ms. Chaudhry right? We throw gay people under the bus anytime it clashes with what makes Muslims uncomfortable?”

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Comedian and commentator Bill Maher (left) ripped into a progressive Democratic congressional candidate, Melissa Chaudhry (right), for what he said amounted to abandoning LGBTQ individuals to appeal to Muslim voters. (Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images; Vote Melissa 4 Congress Facebook page)

Maher cited Chaudhry’s comments as part of his broader discussion about the importance of upholding Western civilization.

“Most immigrants want to assimilate, but some have this other attitude of, ‘Melting pot? F— you, you melt. Look, you don’t have to love everything about America … But you have to answer one question: Do you like Western civilization? Because that’s what we are, and that’s not negotiable.”

He acknowledged that liberals may be uncomfortable with his critique because when they hear the word “Muslim” they “have been brainwashed into thinking, ‘Oh some Islamophobic b——t is coming now.’”

“No, just facts and a little honesty to the people who see everything as oppressor versus oppressed but can’t see who does a lot of oppressing,” he said.

Fox News Digital previously reported, citing The Stranger, that when asked why her website did not mention LGBTQ+ issues, Chaudhry replied, “Because a lot of Muslims do not feel that way, unfortunately,”

The outlet reported that Chaudhry noted she “was careful about her Muslim constituents.”

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Washington congressional candidate Melissa Chaudhry poses for a selfie at a public event (Vote Melissa 4 Congress Facebook page)

Chaudhry later addressed the comments in a Facebook post, calling the interview “one of the least-proud moments of my life,” according to the outlet.

She wrote that “if you are queer, and you are wondering if you and your rights are safe with me, I assure you from the bottom of my heart, you are, you have always been, and you always will be.”

Chaudhry, who often wears a hijab-like scarf, also published a video titled “LGBTQ+ Folks, and the Media’s Attacks On Me.” In the video, Chaudhry said that “the very same media that doesn’t care about a federal candidate getting rape and death threats for my scarf for three years and has never covered these very real crimes is now suddenly falling all over themselves to take a lie and run with it.”

“Here’s what’s actually true,” she continued. “When I say dignity, safety and opportunity for all, where do I stutter?”

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Melissa Chaudhry, one of the U.S. Congressional candidates, and her husband, retired U.S. Army mental health specialist Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, who are also neighbors, cry during the memorial as hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Washington, United States on September 8, 2024 to protest against Israel following the killing of 26-year-old Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Nablus. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“I have supported full equality for LGBTQ+ people my entire life,” she said, concluding that “this issue is not a talking point for me; it is the fabric of my life.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Chaudhry’s campaign for additional comment.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.