Big Bang Theory's Creator Chuck Lorre Is Terrified of Steve Bannon

The Big Bang Theory executive producer Chuck Lorre is just like every other American: politics are the only thing he can think about these days. His last two TBBT vanity cards -- notes to viewers he inserts in the end credits of his shows -- have been political. Last week he issued a warning about President Trump's fascist tendencies, and this week he mused on one of the primary architects of that authoritarian agenda, White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.

Lorre writes:

If the free press is the enemy of the people, and I'm part of the people, it would follow that Rachel Maddow is out to get me. Now I don't mean to diminish her intellect, which is considerable, but as enemies go, with that Ricky Nelson pompadour and big, goofy grin, she doesn't exactly strike terror in my heart. On the other hand, Little Stevie Van Breitbart, who I assume is a friend of the people and looks like he just woke up from a three-day bender, scares the $#!+ out of me.

Before joining the Trump campaign, Bannon was the chairman of Breitbart News, a right-wing website that recently made headlines when its most high-profile editor resigned after making controversial comments about pedophilia.

Trump has echoed Bannon's belief that the mainstream media is the administration's "opposition party," since the media reports things that Trump and Bannon don't want them to... Which Trump then decries as "fake news." Yesterday Bannon said that the relationship between the White House and the media is "not only not going to get better, it's going to get worse -- every day."

One of the many things Lorre is probably frightened by is Bannon's anti-Semitism. Under Bannon, Breitbart became a hotbed of anti-Semitic language, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Bannon and Lorre do have one thing in common -- they've gotten very rich from sitcoms. In 1993, while working as an investment banker, Bannon's company brokered a deal between Ted Turner and Castle Rock Entertainment. Bannon & Co.'s compensation was a financial stake in a few Castle Rock shows. One of them was Seinfeld, which has since made $3.1 billion dollars in syndication, therefore earning millions for Bannon.

Lorre says he isn't afraid of liberal commentator Rachel Maddow, but he will be when she becomes President Elizabeth Warren's Chief of Wealth Redistribution (that's a joke).

The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS.

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