On Friday's Real Time show, liberal HBO comedian Bill Maher made gay jokes about Senator Lindsey Graham, including one in which he suggested that the South Carolina Republican needs his "dead boyfriend," John McCain, to make him stand up to President Donald Trump.

The gay jokes began during the show's opening monlogue after Maher showed a clip of Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake being confronted by a woman in an elevator about his reaction to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault accusations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The liberal host pivoted to Senator Graham and quipped: "And then they tried cornering Lindsey Graham, but he got away because he's familiar with the back door."

Later, during the panel segment, as the group discussed reports that President Donald Trump influenced Judge Kavanaugh to be more aggressive in his testimony defending himself against the accusations, Maher began complaining that President Trump succeeds in getting others to imitate him. Maher:

What is as bad is this Trumpfiying of people -- I mean, the fact that Trump can either find people like him or make people -- Lindsey Graham -- Lindsey Graham needs the stabilizing influence of his dead boyfriend because he is just --

The HBO host paused as the audience and panel members erupted into laughter, and panel member and CNN contributor April Ryan pointed at Maher and injected: "He said it."

The two then joked back and forth about whether Ryan would be blamed for Maher's controversial jokes.