Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, is once again at the center of a political firestorm. Her recent deposition in a high-profile defamation lawsuit against HBO and comedian Bill Maher has not only reignited rumors about her alleged relationship with Trump but also dragged Senator Lindsey Graham into the spotlight, sparking debates about privacy, political discourse, and LGBTQ+ visibility in American politics.
The controversy began in October 2024, when Loomer filed a lawsuit against Maher and HBO after Maher joked on two episodes of Real Time that Loomer "might be" sleeping with Trump. On September 13, 2024, Maher quipped, "I think maybe Laura Loomer’s in an arranged relationship to affect the election because she’s very close to Trump. She’s 31, looks like his type." He went further, stating, "We did an editorial here a few years ago … it was basically, who’s Trump f–king? Because I said, you know, it’s not nobody. He’s been a dog for too long, and it’s not Melania. I think we may have our answer this week. I think it might be Laura Loomer." According to TheWrap, Loomer claimed these remarks were not only false but deeply damaging, costing her a potential job in the White House and subjecting her to intense online harassment.
In her deposition, which was initially made public by her own legal team in July 2025 (in defiance of a judge’s order to keep it confidential), Loomer did not mince words. "I have been smeared as a whore and as a groupie and as a bimbo, and I am not working in the White House right now because of Bill Maher’s false accusations against me, in which he stated that I had an affair with President Trump," she declared. Loomer insisted that there is "no evidence that I had sex with President Trump. I have never even been in the same room with President Trump alone." She emphasized that Maher’s comments were "obviously defamatory" and had "robbed me of opportunity by falsely smearing me as a philander, an adulterer and a groupie."
Loomer, who describes herself as an investigative journalist, also detailed how the loss of a White House job opportunity—one she claims was rescinded after a New York Times article about her, not Maher's comments—impacted her future earning potential. "There are people that go on who work for administrations who get to go work at boards. There’s people that get to have foundations. They get to go work in future administrations. They get paid for speaking engagements once they leave their official role with the federal government. You don’t know. There’s people that write books. There’s people that get to go become Fox News contributors. They become contributors on mainstream media," she explained, underscoring the speculative nature of her damages claim.
But the deposition did not stop at Loomer's grievances with Maher. In a dramatic twist, Loomer testified under oath that several Trump staffers had confided in her that Senator Lindsey Graham is gay. This claim, as reported by PinkNews and corroborated by her own social media posts, has circulated for years but remains unsubstantiated. Loomer told the court, "Several of President Trump’s staff have told me in confidence that Lindsey Graham is gay." She later posted on X (formerly Twitter), "I was asked about Lindsey during my deposition so I had to tell the truth. I was under oath." Senator Graham, who has consistently denied speculation about his sexuality, has not commented on Loomer's latest remarks.
Loomer’s comments about Graham are not new. In 2024, she publicly called on the senator to "come out of the closet," stating, "We all know you’re gay, Lindsey.… And that’s ok. It’s ok. It’s 2024. There’s nothing wrong with gay people. I like men too. You and I have something in common we can bond over. Just be honest about it. Nobody is going to judge you for being open about who you are." This surprisingly inclusive tone stands in contrast to Loomer’s reputation for inflammatory rhetoric, but it has reignited debates about the ethics of "outing" public figures and the pressures faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in the political arena.
Advocacy organizations and commentators have weighed in on the controversy. The Human Rights Campaign, among others, has reiterated that "coming out is a personal journey and should be respected at every level, including in the political arena." Critics from both sides of the aisle have condemned the use of someone’s rumored sexuality as a political weapon, noting the dangers of forced outing and the need for compassionate advocacy. As The Washington Post observed, such rumors "expose the expectation underlying this gossip: Americans have long expected their politicians to be male, cisgender, straight and married, and have scrutinized those who are not."
The fallout from Loomer’s deposition has been swift. HBO’s lawyers accused her of violating court rules by publicizing details of the sealed deposition, arguing in a filing that Loomer "continued her pattern of seeking to use discovery as a vehicle for increasing her own fame and profits." HBO maintains that Maher’s remarks are protected by the First Amendment. Meanwhile, some Trump allies have expressed concern about Loomer’s growing influence within the former president’s orbit, seeing her actions as a distraction from key campaign messaging. Both Senator Graham and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was also referenced in Loomer's deposition in a crude social media post, have distanced themselves from her in the wake of her controversial statements.
The deposition itself, a sprawling 226-page document, is a testament to the state of American political discourse. According to The Spectator Australia, Loomer’s testimony ranged from denying any romantic involvement with Trump to accusing Maher of being a "perverted atheist who likes to harass women." She defended her online attacks on figures like Rep. Greene—insisting her infamous "Arby’s in her pants" tweet was about sandwiches, not sex—and even made graphic comments about Vice President Kamala Harris’s personal life. The document, now re-sealed by court order, has nonetheless found its way into the public domain, fueling further media frenzy and online speculation.
This latest episode in the ongoing saga of Laura Loomer, Bill Maher, and the broader cast of American political figures is a stark reminder of the blurred lines between satire, rumor, and defamation in today’s media landscape. As the legal battle continues, the case raises pressing questions about the responsibilities of public figures, the ethics of political gossip, and the enduring challenges faced by those living under the microscope of public scrutiny.
For now, the reverberations from Loomer’s deposition show no signs of abating, as the intersection of politics, celebrity, and personal identity continues to play out on a national stage.
