Salon.com > orangutan

Donald Trump has “temporarily withdrawn” lawsuit against Bill Maher

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:20:00 +0000

Donald Trump, demonstrating the first act of sanity since Bill Maher challenged him to prove he was not the "spawn of an orangutan," has withdrawn the lawsuit against Maher--well, temporarily.

"The lawsuit was temporarily withdrawn to be amended and refiled at a later date," Michael Cohen, Trump Executive Vice President and Special Counsel, told TMZ.

Maher's orangutan comment and subsequent challenge had been a direct jab at Trump's October announcement, in which the real estate mogul challenged President Obama to release his college transcript in exchange for $5 million donation to a charity of his choosing. Maher then jokingly challenged Trump to prove he is not the offspring of an orangutan, which everyone took to be a joke, except human joke Donald Trump. When the Donald offered up record of his very human birth, Maher didn't pay up, and Trump sued, saying he “had an obligation to sue for charity.”

Must-see morning clip: Maher tells Trump to “suck it up”

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:02:00 +0000

Bill Maher responded to Donald Trump's $5 million "orangutan" lawsuit on "Real Time" on Saturday, telling Trump "suck it up," and noting that jokes on comedy shows are not typically legally binding contracts.

The kerfuffle between Trump and Maher started shortly after Trump announced that he would give $5 million to charity if Obama provided his school records. Maher joked on "The Tonight Show" that Trump should prove that he wasn't the child of an orangutan. Trump, for some reason, did, and his lawyer sent Maher a copy of the birth certificate. “Attached hereto is a copy of Mr. Trump’s birth certificate, demonstrating that he is the son of Fred Trump, not an orangutan," his lawyer wrote.

Donald Trump sues Bill Maher for $5 million over orangutan bet

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:46:00 +0000

The cheap joke that is Donald Trump has somehow become cheaper: The real estate mogul yesterday filed a $5 million lawsuit against Bill Maher, after the television host failed to fulfill his end of a deal asking Trump to prove he is not a "spawn of an orangutan."

Maher made the bet on Jay Leno's show, very obviously mocking Donald Trump's non-announcement announcement in October, in which the birther promised to donate $5 million to a charity of Obama’s choice upon the release of the president's college transcripts. Maher mocked Trump and "the syphilitic monkey that runs his Twitter tweet," saying, "We did a new rule one week, that suppose that Donald Trump had been the spawn of on orangutan having sex with his mother." He clarified to Leno, "I'm not saying it's true -- I hope it's not true. But unless he comes up with proof, I'm willing to offer $5 million to Donald Trump that he can donate to a charity of his choice."