When Lear, the legendary TV sitcom producer, was told of McAuliffe's comments this month, he responded: "What's Hillary going to do? Jail me?"
Adopting Lear's strategy are singer Barbra Streisand, former Paramount Pictures head Sherry Lansing and another DreamWorks founder, Steven Spielberg -- all of whom are giving early contributions to multiple candidates.
"The vast majority of people in Hollywood have not decided who they are going to support," publicist Howard Bragman said. "And they're watching this unfold."
Geffen's comments, in an interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd at his Beverly Hills estate, reflected a long-simmering feud that dates to the latter years of Bill Clinton's presidency.
President Clinton had rejected Geffen's request that he pardon American Indian activist Leonard Peltier, who is serving two life sentences in the 1975 deaths of two FBI agents. Peltier's advocates say he was wrongly convicted.
Geffen's comments this week marked the completion of his transformation from leading Clinton patron to vocal critic -- a change that was foreshadowed two years ago when he told a New York audience that Sen. Clinton was so polarizing a figure that she could not win the presidential election. "Ambition is just not a good enough reason," Geffen said at the time.
Clinton aides sought Wednesday to turn the potentially damaging episode into an advantage, issuing searing statements painting Obama as a hypocrite for taking help from Geffen even as Obama denounces the "slash and burn" aspect of traditional politics.
By pulling Obama into the controversy, Clinton aides hoped to take the shine off a candidacy that has sparked surprising excitement, not only in Hollywood but among many Democratic activists across the country.
One Clinton news release, its headline in capital letters, called on Obama to cut ties to Geffen due to his "vicious attacks." It cited earlier comments by Obama in which he denounced the "small politics" of Washington.
"How can Sen. Obama denounce the politics of slash and burn yesterday while his own campaign is espousing the politics of trash today?" Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson asked.
Though Wolfson had described Geffen as Obama's "principal fundraiser," Geffen issued a statement later in the day saying he had "no formal role" in the Obama campaign but would "continue to offer my strongest possible personal support for his candidacy." Geffen did not respond to requests for further comment.
