Bill Maher has made an entire career out of being politically incorrect — but sometimes
he arguably goes too far.
While his career has survived relatively unscathed, that doesn't mean some of his sketchier moments
didn't make big waves.
Here are some of the shady things that have come out about Bill Maher.
During a 2017 live taping of Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher dropped a racial slur, sparking
outrage.
In a later conversation with author and sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson, Maher offered
a rambling public apology, though he prefaced it by saying:
"There is a lot of bulls--- apologizing in America, and I am against that."
However, Maher did want to apologize to those he may have offended most, saying,
“For black folks, that word — I don't care who you are — has caused pain.
I'm not here to do that."
He tried to explain why he ever used the offensive word in the first place, explaining,
“The comic mind goes to a weird place sometimes.”
He quickly added,
"It doesn't matter that it wasn't said in malice, it wasn't, but if it brought back
pain to people, that's why I apologize freely.”
In 2014, a liberal-leaning Maher angered LGBTQ viewers and allies when he spoke about then-CEO
of Mozilla, Brendan Eich, who stepped down after taking heat for making a $1,000 donation
in support of Prop 8, which sought to ban same-sex marriage.
Maher cracked,
"I think there is a gay Mafia.
I think if you cross them, you do get whacked."
Maher has also joined in on problematic Trump-Putin romantic relationship jokes.
In 2019, the comedian ticked off reasons why he believes Trump is a "Russian agent," claiming,
"He met Putin five times — that's a lot of times in just a couple of years, always
with nobody around."
He then added,
“Forget collusion, I want to know if there's penetration."
The Daily Beast called that type of material quote "irresponsible and offensive" for a
number of reasons, one of which begged the question:
"Is it the idea that outing a powerful political leader is the greatest way to bring him shame?"
In 2010, Maher said he wished then-President Barack Obama was more like Suge Knight — a
rap mogul sentenced to 28 years in prison for killing a man — instead of like squeaky-clean
comic Wayne Brady.
Brady wasn't impressed.
He fumed on the Girl On Guy podcast,
"That means it's a diss to Obama to be called me because he wants a brother brother."
Though almost everyone agrees that the children of politicians are off limits, that's never
appeared to stop Maher.
He made numerous vulgar comments about former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol,
who became pregnant as an unwed teen.
In 2013, Maher also mocked Palin's son, Trig, who has special needs, describing the then-5-year-old,
using a developmental slur during a stand-up set, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Palin took to Twitter to challenge the controversial comic to meet up with her when she's in his
"neck of the woods."
In a follow-up tweet, she added,
"Hey bully, on behalf of all kids whom you hatefully mock in order to make yourself feel
big, I hope one flattens your lily white wimp a--."
Maher has also taken aim at Trump's adult children, including making lewd comments about
Ivanka and comparing Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr. to Nazis.
In 2001, just days after the horrific terror attacks of 9/11, Maher said on Politically
Incorrect,
“We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away."
"Staying in the airplane when it hits the building?"
"Say what you want about it; not cowardly."
Following the comments, according to People magazine, some advertisers pulled their support.
The show wasn't renewed — allegedly prompting its move to HBO.
Years later, the Daily Beast reported that during a 2016 episode of Real Time, Maher
took Apple to task for battling the FBI over iPhone encryption by once again casting the
American public in a bad light, and claiming,
"I think people in this country are spoiled, I think they're uninformed, I don't think
they really know what the threats are out there.
[…] 9/11 was pretty horrible, but compared to what happens in the rest of the world often,
we've gotten away pretty easy."
Maher has a long history of anti-Islamic comments, but few are more infamous than those during
his debate over religion with actor Ben Affleck, in 2014.
Maher said of Islam,
“It's the only religion that acts like the mafia that will f---ng kill you if you say
the wrong thing."
A heated Affleck pushed back, saying,
"How about the more than a billion people who aren't fanatical, who don't punch women,
who just want to go to school, have some sandwiches, pray five times a day, and don't do any of
the things you're saying.”
Then, in a 2015 segment, Maher compared former One Direction member Zayn Malik to one of
the Boston Marathon bombers, joking about what he considered similarities in appearance,
asking:
"Where were you during the Boston Marathon?"
We're not expecting Maher to ditch his controversial brand anytime soon.
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