# Gore Vidal calls Polanski victim "little hooker," claims anti-Semitism got "poor Polanski" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 31, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793 "2009-10-31T00:34:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/21 "2009-10-31T11:07:16Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Hey, straight folks? We’ll trade you Gore Vidal, Ernst Roehm and a third old gay fart to be named later for Matt Damon. Whaddaya say? Ok, but you have to take Ben Affleck, too. > [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > His full name is Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, with ‘Gore’ being in honor of his maternal grandfather, Thomas Gore, a Senator from Oklahoma. Who the fuck names their kid “Eugene Luther Gore”? And do you really expect them to be normal? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/22 "2009-10-31T11:25:12Z")
Probably not, although back in the day when that geezer (man, it feels good to say that :D) was born, names like Eugene (or Gene for short) and Luther were not all that unusual. Still, I’d say he has certainly lived down to expectations. He lost all credibility with me years ago when he referred to William F. Buckley as a profoundly stupid man. I haven’t been able to take him seriously since. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/23 "2009-10-31T11:52:31Z")
> [@ToeJam](#): > > Hold out for NPH! Fool of a **ToeJam**! We want Ian McKellen. (Or Dan Savage.) ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/24 "2009-10-31T13:04:43Z")
I suspect that a majority sees the name “Gore Vidal” written, and hears it as “Gorey Veedle (snort, snort)”. I know I never read it any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/25 "2009-10-31T13:05:12Z")
All I know about Gore Vidal is his performance in _Gattica_ was workmanlike. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/26 "2009-10-31T14:09:26Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > “Gorey Veedle (snort, snort)”. I can’t believe someone beat me to it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/27 "2009-10-31T14:09:42Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Hey, straight folks? We’ll trade you Gore Vidal, Ernst Roehm and a third old gay fart to be named later for Matt Damon. Whaddaya say? Ha! That would be worth Dane Cook, tops! And a good GM wouldn’t consider giving up anyone more valuable than Ernest Borgnine. On the other hand, the historical rights to Lincoln have to at least be worth Portia De Rossi don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/28 "2009-10-31T14:11:26Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Or, alternatively, something we are eager to take off our hands. Fred Phelps? It would be kismet… In bed last night it occurs to me that you guys have been taking on hateful conservative ministers and family values congresspeople for a few years now…maybe we do owe you one. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/29 "2009-10-31T16:31:18Z")
He always craved attention by any means, especially since [Lilly Tomlin stopped calling him](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9e3dTOJi0o) ---
**Author:** ![SweetLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@SweetLucy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetLucy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/30 "2009-10-31T20:00:15Z")
But… he seemed like such a sweet little kid in “Amelia” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/31 "2009-10-31T20:18:28Z")
Fellow straight people: Come on, folks, we’ve gotta hold out for Rachel Maddow, here. That’s gotta be the goal. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/32 "2009-10-31T20:41:44Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Gore Vidal: What an offensive, unpleasant and delusional man. I’d pay real money to see Buckley follow through on his threat to “plaster” Vidal. > [@Turek](#): > > Who the fuck names their kid “Eugene Luther Gore”? And do you really expect them to be normal? Clearly they were shooting for some kind of supervillain. Kids just never live up to your expectations, do they? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/33 "2009-10-31T20:49:13Z")
Yeah, who cares about young hookers who get taken advantage of? For a rape victim to really matter, she’s gotta be REALLY young. And has to have been 100% hymen certified for at least 24% before this alleged rape. And have been dragged into the bushes by some Puerto Rican guy–none of this “rich director took advantage of me!” crap. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/34 "2009-10-31T20:49:17Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I’d pay real money to see Buckley follow through on his threat to “plaster” Vidal. Rather unlikely to happen now, isn’t it? I’ve always been a big fan of Gore Vidal’s writings. I liked his American history novels, and i think he is one of the great essayists and critics of the second half of the twentieth century. His _United States: Essays 1925-1992_ contains some absolutely brilliants work. I also liked his memoir, _Palimpsest_. Over the last few years, though, he has really lost me. He’s always been willing to speak his mind, and has never really cared who he offended, but recently he seems to be a little unhinged. Watching interviews with him now is painful, and it constantly appears as if he’s a sad combination of his own sarcastic and brilliant self, on the one hand, and Grandpa Simpson, on the other. He has made a great contribution to the world of letters, but i think it would probably have been best if he faded gracefully from view. Too late for that now, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/35 "2009-10-31T20:52:44Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I’m not interested in Roehm, but Gore Vidal has a raging sarcasto queen tongue that when properly directed, like against Bill Buckley, was enjoyable. I’m not terribly surprised he doesn’t get that Polanski is a child rapist. Meh Buckley sort of made him look petty and useless. YMMV. This latest comment makes him an arsehole on an epic level. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/36 "2009-11-02T14:46:21Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > From the [interview](http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910u/gore-vidal):“I was there, i know what was going on. Doesn’t matter what anyone else says.” > > He sounds a lot like **Starving Artist**. I didn’t want to let this go by unremarked-upon. Whatever faults **Starving Artist** has, he’s never supported or defended a child rapist. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/37 "2009-11-02T14:57:50Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > I didn’t want to let this go by unremarked-upon. Whatever faults **Starving Artist** has, he’s never supported or defended a child rapist. Give him time. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/38 "2009-11-02T15:07:19Z")
No one ever accused Gore Vidal of having either a brain or common sense… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/39 "2009-11-02T15:09:25Z")
Aw, sounds like somebody wants attention. Haven’t seen such a desperate attempt since Chris Hitchens let out some unfunny glurge on who he doesn’t find funny when he’s collapsed by the toilet and reaching for a stained book of witty quotes. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/40 "2009-11-02T15:17:06Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > “Gore Vidal says something provocative and insensitive” isn’t really a new story. This. When was the last time Vidal said anything worth listening to? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793.md?page=3)