Sean Hannity (above on his Fox News show) was once fired over controversial remarks he made about AIDS
Shocking remarks made by Sean Hannity in 1989 in which he describes AIDS as a ‘gay disease’ which can be transmitted by saliva and tears have surfaced.
The Fox News host was the voice of The Pursuit of Happiness, a show run by the University of California’s radio station KCSB, when he made the comments which briefly cost him his job.
In a tape that was uncovered by The Washington Post, he is heard saying: ‘Contrary to what we hear in the general media, you can get AIDS from saliva, from tears.. They won’t let you say it’s a gay disease.’
Hannity had Gene Antonio, an anti-gay activist and author, as a guest on the show at the time.
‘There’s sort of a brain washing going on if you want my opinion. They’re afraid of the backlash that homosexuals might receive,’ Hannity told him.
On Tuesday, he described the remarks as ‘ignorant and embarrassing’ telling DailyMail.com that he was ‘young and stupid’ when he made them.
‘Almost 30 years ago when I was starting out in radio in my 20’s, I interviewed a controversial guest who made several incendiary comments.
‘I was young and stupid with no clue how to do a show. I’m actually very libertarian on social issues and people’s personal lives.
Hannity was fired from KCSB, the University of California’s radio station, after the controversial segment in 1989
‘I’m now 55 years old and yes I freely admit the comments in my 20’s were ignorant and embarrassing,’ Hannity said.
Hannity was interviewing Gene Antonio, an anti-gay activist and author of the book The AIDS Cover Up, during the 1989 show.
He enthusiastically agreed with Antonio’s views, telling him: ‘There’s sort of a brainwashing, if you want my opinion, going on, where they don’t want the general public to get the true information about this disease.
‘It seems like they’re trying to hide the facts to keep the public from getting alarmed about it, because they’re afraid, perhaps, of the backlash that they might receive, the homosexuals might receive.’
He also said he would not want a gay teacher telling his son that ‘homosexuality was an alternative lifestyle’ and declared: ‘Anyone listening to this show that believes homosexuality is just a normal lifestyle has been brainwashed. These disgusting people.’
Hannity never graduated from The University of California Santa Barbara (above), one of three colleges which he attended but dropped out of
Jody-May Chang, the left-wing host of Gay and Lesbian Perspectives, another university show, called in to argue with their rhetoric.
‘I have a son, okay? I just gave birth to him about eight weeks ago and I certainly hope he doesn’t grow up to be like you,’ she said.
Hannity shot back: ‘Artificial insemination. Aren’t you married to a woman, by the way?’
When she said that she was, he said: ‘I feel sorry for your son’ while Antonio chimed in: ‘Turkey baster babies’.
He later said gay sex was ‘tantamount’ to playing in a sewer.
The segment attracted complaints to the station and Hannity was fired at the request of Chang.
He then sought help from the American Civil Liberties Union which was instrumental in overturning Trump’s travel ban and which Hannity has criticized on his Fox News show.
One is lawyers told The Post they remembered his case said he’d been discriminated against because he was a conservative.
They took his case and threatened to sue the university for breaching the First Amendment.
In a transcript of one hearing, Hannity complained: ‘The station did not like my opinions. I stood for conservative, traditional, loving family values.’
He was eventually hired back by the radio station.
AIDS was first reported in the public domain in 1981 and, for years afterwards, information about the disease and how it spreads was scarce.
Hannity (above on his Fox News show this week) was hired by the network in 1996, seven years after he made the remarks
In 1987, the World Health Organization announced there was no evidence that it could be transmitted by tears or saliva.
Hannity has softened his stance on homosexuality since the incident.
In 2013, he had Ben Carson on his Fox News show to discuss gay marriage laws.
Carson drew criticism for his shocking comments which appeared to compare gay marriage to bestiality.
Carson apologized afterwards and Hannity stayed away from offering his opinion on the subject but said he believed Carson had been ‘vilified and demonized’ because he was an African American Conservative.
Hannity’s 1989 remarks were reported by the Washington Post on Tuesday but they were previously published by Media Matters in 2014.
The group is one of Hannity’s most vociferous opponents.
On his Fox News show, he regularly complains about them without mentioning their name, claiming they are on a malicious mission to find dirt about him and use it to persuade viewers and voters to the left.