I am vey disappointed in the way Bill Maher has continued to turn to the right. I was a big fan of his for many years and in fact, saw him in person twice, but I can’t say enough How sad I am that this is the path he has chosen to take.
Same. I haven't watched Maher for several years. I used to never miss a show. While he was, at times, smug and always high on his own supply he still punched up. Then "Me Too" came around and he cracked. Maybe it was because that hit close to the mark with him or something? What really ended it for me was his be-kind-to-him scolding of the audience when he had Milo Yiannopoulos on his show. Yes, the same Milo that said adult men raping boys was a good thing.
While it's a much different show, John Oliver is the front man these days.
I agree about the Me Too timing. I think he probably got caught up in that and became very defensive. Maybe to close to home. Perhaps he protest too much.
The "I love pot, am a confirmed bachelor, a curmudgeon, and don't like kids" schtick is getting really old... It's patterned after WC Fields, it seems to me, modernized, because pot seems more sophisticated than Four Roses.
His real problem is that he pretends to be a thinker and some hay understand this as "intellect." He's not. He now openly confuses both-sidism with critical thinking, so he has no fangs when he has "the other side" on, because he doesn't really read, it seems to me. He picks up a few stats and runs with them, he sees a few students wearing Palestinian scarfs and runs with that.
I listened to the 17-april show, interview was so so, but then in the panel, Mr. Anti-Scold scolds one of his panelists in the best tradition of the school marm for having pointed out that we should not be legitimizing this creep in the WH... Of course, the real problem with Bill's visit is that he failed to see that Charming Trump is a clue to Trump's real persona: He is a scammer, and will be one thing to one person/group and another to another... That is the true meaning of transactional... a euphemism for opportunist.
This wasn't one of my favorite moments from Maher, but your take is all wrong here. I've been a fan for 20 years and have had the opportunity to trace his arc. Mainly he hates dogma and watching people and arguments get relegated to categories. He's kind of the ultimate individualist. He's a really smart guy who entertains by pulling out hidden nuance -- which is something no one else does. Sometimes it's misguided. More often it's insightful. Occasionally it's brilliant.
Give the guy more credit for his wins over the years. He's taken it on the chin FAR more often from Republicans and conservatives by parading their corrupted and occasionally criminal hypocrisies. But he never seems to get any credit for that. Where was your outrage when the neo-cons got his his liberal network TV show canceled after 9-11 when he agreed the attacks were evil but not a result of cowardice? And this from a guy who is regularly accused of Islamophobia.
He doesn't always succeed, but mainly what he argues for is intellectual honesty and consistency in debate. And against knee-jerk, uncomplicated calls for shunning and silencing.
100%, Maher peaked, went OVER the peak, and then began careening downhill at a breakneck pace long ago, he used to be arguably funny somewhere south of 15 years ago, but has simply become tedious these days, now he's just another aging, narcissistic, libertarian freak, which are about a dime a dozen anymore.
Both Bill and Turdrump probably shared a laugh after bullying or in other ways humiliating another human being who , to them , is “inferior “ or is in some way” flawed”. They both share arrogance and superiority, big feelings along with narcissism.
Thank you, Rich, for convincing me right now to cancel my regular taping of the Bill Maher show. Like many proud "woke" observers of his show, I too was becoming very disenchanted with Maher's leaning toward the right. He had the worst people on his show for the first segment in recent years, people like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and others like him who demonstrated the worst aspects of MAGA-ism. I will now cancel my taping of the show and probably watch John Oliver who has has not kneeled down to kiss the ring of the fascistic president.
Maher is a symptom, not a cause. He lives off eyeballs, clicks and quotas, and he is now in another world than he was before. Like most influencers, he is a pretend-figure. His public persona is wholly created to sound genuine, authentic: The somewhat curmudgeonly boomer who is reasonable, rational, old-fashioned liberal, wanting to debate Republicans... And he is in search of a captive audience, like the guy who crashed his plane on purpose just for clicks.
Bill's schtick is "talk to the other side." He does, but he is woefully unprepared when he does. Case in point, his visit to the White House... The bottom-line takeaway from that visit? Simple: Trump is a typical salesman-cum-grifter who is one thing to his base --uncouth, ranting, incoherent, simplistic -- because grifting requires mimicking. I mean: Do you really think the guy eats hamburgers all the time? That is for show! Same as his crazy rants about migrants... It's all a performance meant to keep his base happy, because they are in a bubble of ignorance that has been foisted upon them by a.m. radio and later Fox News and other outlets trying to capitalize on that ignorance.
In other words: Maher has been scammed. But he didn't see it, because there was no money involved. Trump didn't want his money, in the way he wants the support and money of his adulating base. He wanted to get a part of Maher's "well, both sides" audience. And Maher, who has very little self-awareness left, fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
Note: Bill lost his edge around the time of the pandemic..... Maybe he should have taken the lockdown time to read a bit of serious stuff instead of his own old monologues.
This is a shit take from a narcissistic tribalist who feels they must vilify anyone that offers an opinion other than the approved narrative. Maher is a proud liberal. But you are an illiberal leftist. Good luck with projecting your hate for yourself onto people who have different opinions than you.
the majority of American voters put Trump in office. I dislike Trump too but unfortunately he’s president because of the voters rejection of leftist policies and ideology. Bernie and AOC were getting everything they wanted from Biden. You’re pointing at Bill Maher but you shouldn’t be addressing the American voters
Bill Maher continues to prove just because you’re an atheist doesn’t mean you’re smart.
I am vey disappointed in the way Bill Maher has continued to turn to the right. I was a big fan of his for many years and in fact, saw him in person twice, but I can’t say enough How sad I am that this is the path he has chosen to take.
Same. I haven't watched Maher for several years. I used to never miss a show. While he was, at times, smug and always high on his own supply he still punched up. Then "Me Too" came around and he cracked. Maybe it was because that hit close to the mark with him or something? What really ended it for me was his be-kind-to-him scolding of the audience when he had Milo Yiannopoulos on his show. Yes, the same Milo that said adult men raping boys was a good thing.
While it's a much different show, John Oliver is the front man these days.
I agree about the Me Too timing. I think he probably got caught up in that and became very defensive. Maybe to close to home. Perhaps he protest too much.
The "I love pot, am a confirmed bachelor, a curmudgeon, and don't like kids" schtick is getting really old... It's patterned after WC Fields, it seems to me, modernized, because pot seems more sophisticated than Four Roses.
His real problem is that he pretends to be a thinker and some hay understand this as "intellect." He's not. He now openly confuses both-sidism with critical thinking, so he has no fangs when he has "the other side" on, because he doesn't really read, it seems to me. He picks up a few stats and runs with them, he sees a few students wearing Palestinian scarfs and runs with that.
I listened to the 17-april show, interview was so so, but then in the panel, Mr. Anti-Scold scolds one of his panelists in the best tradition of the school marm for having pointed out that we should not be legitimizing this creep in the WH... Of course, the real problem with Bill's visit is that he failed to see that Charming Trump is a clue to Trump's real persona: He is a scammer, and will be one thing to one person/group and another to another... That is the true meaning of transactional... a euphemism for opportunist.
He has the wrong political views so he’s not funny anymore?
You're clearly not a fan.
This wasn't one of my favorite moments from Maher, but your take is all wrong here. I've been a fan for 20 years and have had the opportunity to trace his arc. Mainly he hates dogma and watching people and arguments get relegated to categories. He's kind of the ultimate individualist. He's a really smart guy who entertains by pulling out hidden nuance -- which is something no one else does. Sometimes it's misguided. More often it's insightful. Occasionally it's brilliant.
Give the guy more credit for his wins over the years. He's taken it on the chin FAR more often from Republicans and conservatives by parading their corrupted and occasionally criminal hypocrisies. But he never seems to get any credit for that. Where was your outrage when the neo-cons got his his liberal network TV show canceled after 9-11 when he agreed the attacks were evil but not a result of cowardice? And this from a guy who is regularly accused of Islamophobia.
He doesn't always succeed, but mainly what he argues for is intellectual honesty and consistency in debate. And against knee-jerk, uncomplicated calls for shunning and silencing.
Kind of like yours.
100%, Maher peaked, went OVER the peak, and then began careening downhill at a breakneck pace long ago, he used to be arguably funny somewhere south of 15 years ago, but has simply become tedious these days, now he's just another aging, narcissistic, libertarian freak, which are about a dime a dozen anymore.
Maher is a creep. He proved it in many of his earlier comments.
Nice analysis. The only interesting thing that came out of Maher’s powwow was he saw a glimpse of trump’s humor never revealed.
Otherwise you’re right it was a ratings boost ploy. His centrist posturing will only result in him becoming Dennis Miller, an also once-funny
comedian.
Both Bill and Turdrump probably shared a laugh after bullying or in other ways humiliating another human being who , to them , is “inferior “ or is in some way” flawed”. They both share arrogance and superiority, big feelings along with narcissism.
Thank you, Rich, for convincing me right now to cancel my regular taping of the Bill Maher show. Like many proud "woke" observers of his show, I too was becoming very disenchanted with Maher's leaning toward the right. He had the worst people on his show for the first segment in recent years, people like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and others like him who demonstrated the worst aspects of MAGA-ism. I will now cancel my taping of the show and probably watch John Oliver who has has not kneeled down to kiss the ring of the fascistic president.
That episode was simply nauseating. You’ve precisely nailed it on the head why that was.
Maher is a symptom, not a cause. He lives off eyeballs, clicks and quotas, and he is now in another world than he was before. Like most influencers, he is a pretend-figure. His public persona is wholly created to sound genuine, authentic: The somewhat curmudgeonly boomer who is reasonable, rational, old-fashioned liberal, wanting to debate Republicans... And he is in search of a captive audience, like the guy who crashed his plane on purpose just for clicks.
Bill's schtick is "talk to the other side." He does, but he is woefully unprepared when he does. Case in point, his visit to the White House... The bottom-line takeaway from that visit? Simple: Trump is a typical salesman-cum-grifter who is one thing to his base --uncouth, ranting, incoherent, simplistic -- because grifting requires mimicking. I mean: Do you really think the guy eats hamburgers all the time? That is for show! Same as his crazy rants about migrants... It's all a performance meant to keep his base happy, because they are in a bubble of ignorance that has been foisted upon them by a.m. radio and later Fox News and other outlets trying to capitalize on that ignorance.
In other words: Maher has been scammed. But he didn't see it, because there was no money involved. Trump didn't want his money, in the way he wants the support and money of his adulating base. He wanted to get a part of Maher's "well, both sides" audience. And Maher, who has very little self-awareness left, fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
Note: Bill lost his edge around the time of the pandemic..... Maybe he should have taken the lockdown time to read a bit of serious stuff instead of his own old monologues.
Never a fan of his. I think it’s his too obvious narcissism. And definitely his sneer. Anybody who takes themselves that seriously just creeps me out.
💯 agree
Maher knows better, he’s let his emotions get the best of him lately…
I actually quite enjoy much of what Maher has to say.
This is a shit take from a narcissistic tribalist who feels they must vilify anyone that offers an opinion other than the approved narrative. Maher is a proud liberal. But you are an illiberal leftist. Good luck with projecting your hate for yourself onto people who have different opinions than you.
the majority of American voters put Trump in office. I dislike Trump too but unfortunately he’s president because of the voters rejection of leftist policies and ideology. Bernie and AOC were getting everything they wanted from Biden. You’re pointing at Bill Maher but you shouldn’t be addressing the American voters
Thanks for this. Seriously, at this point he's just punching down.