Super sick yes, liberal no
I think that is what some found offensive.
When I worked in NOLA, I had a gay kid that worked for me. He was constantly saying things that alluded to him being AIDS infected. Maybe he was but he never came out and said so and I doubted it.
It was more like a badge of honor similar to a guy I knew that got a USMC tatoo but had never served.
The point is the gay kid was not liberal.