In Texas it looks like beggars can be choosers.
After the radical right wing legislature in the Lone Star State cut off funding for the popular women’s health care provider, Planned Parenthood sent out a donor appeal seeking private support to continue their operations. Money came rolling in from all over the country to meet their need, including from one unexpected source.
Writer, comedian and misogynist extraordinaire Tucker Max allegedly offered to donate $500,000 to help save Planned Parenthood Dallas. The provocateur was under the impression that such a sizable donation might buy him the right to have a Planned Parenthood clinic named in his honor.
Max's offer was declined.
Max has frequently written about women, and Planned Parenthood specifically, in a degrading and obscene manner. His book “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” was popular with the college demographic, but universally panned by women’s rights groups.
In July 2011 Max tweeted, “Planned Parenthood would be cooler if it was a giant flight of stairs w/someone pushing girls down, like a water park slide.”
In an earlier tweet dated March 14, Max wrote “In South Florida. This place is awful. Shitty design, slutty whores & no culture, like a giant Planned Parenthood waiting room.”
A Planned Parenthood spokesperson refused to acknowledge that Max’s donation was declined on ideological grounds. The only explanation provided was a recitation of the organizations donation policy: “We appreciate the generosity of our supporters, and take seriously our role as financial stewards of contributions, grants, and government funding. Like many nonprofits, Planned Parenthood reserves the right to decline offers of gifts and grants that may be discriminatory, are for purposes outside of our mission, or are too difficult to administer."
I understand Planned Parenthood’s point of view on this issue, and the Tucker Max Planned Parenthood Clinic certainly has an unseemly ring to it, but it’s important for organizations-and people in general-to separate entertainers from their public personas.
Despite his macho posturing when in character, Max seems sincere about the donation. He self-identifies as pro-choice and said of Planned Parenthood, “They really did help me and my girlfriend when I was poor. I really do believe in their mission.”
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