Biden Faces Criticism from Crowd After ‘Gay Waiter’ Remark

During a campaign fundraiser in Seattle on Saturday, the presidential hopeful tried to illustrate how far the United States has come when it comes to the treatment of the LGBT community, however, things didn’t go as smoothly as he would have hoped.

Biden mused that five years ago if someone in a business meeting in Seattle “made fun of a gay waiter” people would have let it go. His comments prompted a reaction from the crowd, including one person who shouted: “Not in Seattle!” which drew support from other guests.

Biden rushed to note that if someone made homophobic comments today, "that person would not be invited back." 

Biden also spoke about how he supported same-sex marriage when he was vice president, according to the Seattle Times, telling White House officials that the American people were in favour of this, even if leadership was lagging behind on the issue. He added that it was wrong that a gay couple could get married one day and get fired the next in 22 states because they lacked legal protections from job discrimination.

One online user disagreed with Biden on his “gay waiter” remark, posting a video from 2014 of the ABC experiment with actors in a Mississippi restaurant to see how actual diners would react to a homophobic patron bullying a gay couple and showing two straight men coming to their defence.

Earlier during Thursday's Democratic debate, Biden found himself on the defensive when another presidential hopeful, Sen. Kamala Harris, criticized his messaging when he spoke about his ability to work with segregationists in the past, as well as his opposition to federally mandated busing as a means of integrating public schools.