# Big Joel take down of Bill Maher **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 6, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768 "2025-08-06T14:42:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/41 "2025-08-07T05:42:16Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Who’s Big Joel? I thought somebody just misspelled Billy. Well, Billy Joel did sing about a Bill Maher-type of jerkwad: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bEea624OBzM/maxresdefault.jpg "Billy Joel - Big Shot (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEea624OBzM) > [@CairoCarol](#): > > … as a parent, I feel I could have done worse than raise a kid who thought John Oliver was a decent role model, at least for a few months’ worth of YouTube videos intelligently documenting various atrocities going on in the world. Hopefully he didn’t dwell as much on the inanity of local news by creating a weekly clip show of morning news anchors being morons or marry a cabbage, but I bet you were well informed by deep infodumps about arcane topics that most people didn’t even realize were an issue. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/42 "2025-08-07T07:23:07Z")
He also did a pretty good job predicting the internet several decades in advance with “Angry Young Man”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/M2iNLt_hUZg/maxresdefault.jpg "Billy Joel - Prelude / Angry Young Man (Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2iNLt_hUZg) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/43 "2025-08-07T07:43:35Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > What’s non-negotiable is that you’ll get a much more positive response when excerpting/summarizing key points of looooong videos, rather than just linking them with a not-so-subtle expectation that others will sit through them in their entirety. Eh. I don’t think there is an implication that that someone posting something expects everyone who sees it to click on the link and watch. Like I know the Dope is going to respond this way, but it’s more an idiosyncrasy of this board than anything else. We yell at clouds and tell kids to get off our lawn and are proud of it. And, to be fair, @Stranger_On_A_Train’s post was pretty funny. (And honestly not too dissimilar to some of Big Joel’s comedy at times.) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/44 "2025-08-07T09:03:13Z")
Every time I see the thread title my brain reads it as, “Billy Joel take down of Bill Maher.” ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/45 "2025-08-07T11:14:53Z")
OK, he might have something to say, but I couldn’t stomach more than three minutes of his bizarre vocalization pattern. mmm ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/46 "2025-08-07T11:20:44Z")
One strength of long form video essays is that they are a format that can bring the receipts, so to speak. In this video, Big Joel digs into Maherxs quoted sources and shows how out of context and awful they are. I hate Bill Maher, and I was still shocked that he would twist words as far as he did to create strawmen to mock. You can’t really do this outside of video essays, because it takes a long time, and people need to be able to pause and come back. Video essays are a place for really thorough analysis and response in media, and its a really nice development in how we communicate ideas. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/47 "2025-08-07T12:04:49Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > That’s really all I’ve got to say about this, hence posting in the pit instead of GD or politics. Fuck this guy, amiright? Who are his fans, really? The people who don’t want to be associated with right-wing puritanism, aesthetics, or anti-intellectualism, but they very much do share a belief that ethnic and gender minorities get too darned worked-up over everything. A lot of it is gendered, just guys who believe in a democratic pluralism as long as they don’t have to listen to women telling them what to do. That’s what the whole “facts and logic” thing is, just the assumption that women are silly and hysterical, meaning that any analysis that opposes women is automatically logical and factual. I hate this charade so much, because most of the guys who do it are obviously stupid. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/48 "2025-08-07T12:09:51Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In case you’re not aware, there are _billions_ of videos on YouTube and not everyone watches what you watch. Reminder: it costs nothing to see something, silently say “don’t know, don’t care”, and go about your business. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/49 "2025-08-07T12:11:57Z")
It also costs nothing to explain WTF you’re referring to when starting a thread. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/50 "2025-08-07T12:21:21Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It also costs nothing to explain WTF you’re referring to when starting a thread.   It also costs nothing to check if there’s **[already a goddam fucking existing thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367)** in which **the subject has been discussed all to hell months ago** before starting a new one. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/51 "2025-08-07T12:54:55Z")
Who hurt you? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/52 "2025-08-07T13:21:53Z")
I remember a while back someone told me “you need to watch this hbomberguy video on plagiarism” and I’m like “who the fuck suggests watching a 4-hour video”, and then 4 hours later there I was, having watched it. Some long-form videos work quite well, some don’t, but I’m always open to looking at them to see if they grab me. Thanks for the recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/53 "2025-08-07T13:51:42Z")
Had to scrub through it. No offense to BigJ, I just can’t stand Maher. He is remarkably dumb and unaware; constantly screaming the worst anti-woke crap to, the same 11 non-MAGA right-wingers on rotate, while piling self-righteous hate towards any young person and any American progressive. Maher is Joe Rogan (without the steroids) for those over 60. Love BigJ, but I would rather pound my dick with a hammer. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/54 "2025-08-07T14:01:14Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > He wore a yellow star in his concerts after that infamous march, Unite the Right debacle, in Charlottesville. I have no basis to fault him given that situation. What the Tiki Torch Tantrum Turds chanted on their march was offensive as hell to anyone at all… and it likely was extremely personally offensive to Billy Joel. (I have not watched his biography yet) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/55 "2025-08-07T14:40:45Z")
I was assuming “Big Joel” was the corporations that keep pushing “Piano Man” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire” on us. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/56 "2025-08-07T14:47:46Z")
Don’t let the piano man get you down. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/57 "2025-08-07T15:00:00Z")
I discovered I really couldn’t look at Maher’s smug face, not at all, so I listened to it in the background while doing chores and it was fine, if a bit rambling. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/58 "2025-08-07T18:11:23Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > Maher is Joe Rogan (without the steroids) for those over 60. Love BigJ, but I would rather pound my dick with a hammer. I think Maher is a dumbed down Rogan and I think Rogan is a complete moron. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/59 "2025-08-07T18:30:09Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Reminder: it costs nothing to see something, silently say “don’t know, don’t care”, and go about your business. Since we’re in the Pit; I’m pretty sure **Dewey\_Finn** is _fundamentally_ incapable of that. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/60 "2025-08-07T18:35:00Z")
I’m a fan of providing context or an explanation of what is being discussed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768.md?page=4)