If you have ever watched Patti Stanger on “Millionaire Matchmaker,” you know that she can be a bit gruff (and that is putting it nicely). Stanger has made a living offending her clients. She tells her millionaire clients what they are doing wrong, how they look wrong, what’s wrong with their house, and why they are attracting the wrong women.
But this week, she went a little too far for some. She appeared on Bravo’s new talk show “Watch What Happens Live” last Sunday. Viewers called in to ask her advice, but one caller wasn’t quite prepared for what she gave him. A male caller aske if an open, long distance relationship could work. She asked the caller if he was gay, to which he replied yes. She then stated, “In the gay world, there’s always going to be open. Are you gay or straight? Gay. Then you’re OK. There is no curbing the gay … I try to curb you people. I’ve decided to throw in the towel and say do what you want, but when you find the right person, you will know. You’re not going to want to go on Grinder and all those other sites.”
The gay bashing continued when Stanger asked host Andy Cohen the last time he had a boyfriend after he said he was down with monogamy. Then, a gay viewer Skyped into the show. After seeing him, Stanger said, “First of all, you’re very handsome. I thought you were straight.” Cohen looked at Stanger and said, “I don’t know why being straight is a compliment,” to which she replied, “Because he’s not queen-y.”
There was another sexually explicit statement about gay men falling in love that I will leave out, but needless to say, there was a backlash to Stanger’s statements on the show.
Stanger managed to bash Cohen, who’s Jewish like Stanger, again when she said, “Jewish men lie.”
Many on Twitter called for her resignation from “Millionaire Matchmaker.” One person even wrote she should burn like a witch. Oh those twitterers can be harsh! The Jewish Journal pointed out that there has yet to be a single successful relationship portrayed on her show, despite the fact that she claims a 99% success rate.
Stanger apologized on Twitter in the way only she could. She posted, “Attn male Gays: I support you,” she said. “So sorry — didn’t mean to offend anyone. Love you all. X0.” Then, on “The Joy Bahar Show,” Stanger seemed to take credit for starting the crusade for gay marriage when she said, “I apologize if GLAAD was offended. I was the first person for gay marriage. I put it on the map, on television, where every network fought me, and I’m still there in the trenches.”