# 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:** 4
**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, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/61 "2025-08-07T19:23:12Z")
I agree! That’s why I (looks at my OP): 1. Put an up front disclaimer that this was a link to a video essay. I even went out of my way to commiserate with dopers who, like me, don’t prefer to get information from videos as opposed to text, while explaining why I nevertheless find this video essayist compelling. 2. Introduced the topic of the video (Bill Maher, specifically in reference to his dinner with Trump). 3. Explained what Big Joel does in the video. It’s true that I didn’t explain who Big Joel is in the OP, but I did provide a non-snarky answer when you asked, and quite promptly. None of that stopped you from continuing to bitch. ---
**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, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/62 "2025-08-07T19:54:37Z")
At the risk of repeating myself, that’s all fine, except that there’s already a long thread discussing many different aspects of Bill Maher and his show, pro and con, including that controversial Trump dinner, which was discussed at length after it happened several months ago. So a completely new thread featuring a video of some guy with a bad haircut droning on and on for an hour and a half about how much he hates Bill Maher doesn’t seem to add much value to what’s already been debated to death a long time ago. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I don’t care if it’s supposed to be funny. It’s destroying America. Bill Maher is, obviously, quite comfortably off compared to most of us, but he’s not fantastically wealthy. I believe him when he says that it was painful to part with the $1 million he gave to the Obama campaign. Was that part of his plot to destroy America, too? Maher’s bloviations about the Trump dinner are a naive and misguided attempt to try to tell us that the solution to America’s divisiveness is to have a dialog between the sides. The problem is that you can’t have a productive dialog with a fundamentally evil mental defective, as Neville Chamberlain found out many years ago. ---
**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, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/63 "2025-08-07T20:14:47Z")
I hear you, but like, so what? This wasn’t a super high value thread, I can live with that. They ain’t all bangers. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/64 "2025-08-07T20:16:29Z")
Every time wolfpup fusses at you for starting this thread–hilariously complaining over and over and over about its redundancy–its comic value rises. Who knows where it will end up? ---
**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, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/65 "2025-08-07T20:30:29Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Who knows where it will end up? As a self-parody? 😁 ---
**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, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/66 "2025-08-07T20:31:33Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > At the risk of repeating myself, that’s all fine, except that there’s already a long thread discussing many different aspects of Bill Maher and his show, pro and con, including that controversial Trump dinner, which was discussed at length after it happened several months ago. THIS thread is about a Big Joel video. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/67 "2025-08-07T20:35:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I don’t see what additional value this one is contributing. Well, up until this post, it didn’t have you in it. That was a big plus. > [@wolfpup](#): > > So a completely new thread featuring a video of some guy with a bad haircut droning on and on for an hour and a half about how much he hates Bill Maher doesn’t seem to add much value to what’s already been debated to death a long time ago. Feel free to fuck off out of this thread at any time, then. ---
**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, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/68 "2025-08-07T21:25:20Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > I don’t see what additional value this one is contributing. > > Well, up until this post, it didn’t have you in it. That was a big plus. Narrator: His original notion of cross-linking this mess into the original long-running thread about Bill Maher is now moot, as the conversation now flies off the rails into predictably useless juvenile insults. The thread has taken on a life of its own, but perhaps not quite the one intended by the OP. . ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/69 "2025-08-07T21:40:38Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > His original notion of cross-linking this mess into the original long-running thread about Bill Maher is now moot, as the conversation now flies off the rails into predictably useless juvenile insults. Yeah, that’s probably for the best. “_ **wolfpup** spends a whole year fanboying over Bill Maher_” isn’t really a thread that anyone needs to revisit. ---
**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, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/70 "2025-08-07T21:45:12Z")
Oh is he actually a Maher fan and that’s why he’s shitposting here? Ick. ---
**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, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/71 "2025-08-07T22:11:08Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Oh is he actually a Maher fan and that’s why he’s shitposting here? Ick.   Not a mindless fanboi – I criticize Maher when he deserves it. But I watch the show regularly. Why? Because when Maher interviews influential people like Barack Obama, Paul Begala, Ian Bremmer, Al Gore, Adam Schiff, Gavin Newsom, John McWhorter, Dave Barry, Chrystia Freeland, Fareed Zakaria, Rahm Emanuel, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Joe Scarborough, Mark Cuban, Fran Lebowitz, Nancy Pelosi, Ray Kurzweil, Rob Reiner, Elon Musk, Sam Harris, Maggie Haberman, Eric Holder, and Steven Pinker, just for a few examples, I find that I learn a little more about the world than I knew before. YMMV. ---
**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, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/72 "2025-08-07T22:16:25Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Oh is he actually a Maher fan and that’s why he’s shitposting here? Ick. I love this post. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/73 "2025-08-07T22:16:52Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Oh is he actually a Maher fan and that’s why he’s shitposting here? Ick. Got it in one. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/74 "2025-08-07T23:38:13Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Video essays are a place for really thorough analysis and response in media, and its a really nice development in how we communicate ideas. Agreed. They are an art form like anything else. Sometimes art is bad and sometimes it’s good, but I’ve seen some damned good video essays. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Maher interviews influential people like Barack Obama, Paul Begala, Ian Bremmer, Al Gore, Adam Schiff, Gavin Newsom, John McWhorter, Dave Barry, Chrystia Freeland, Fareed Zakaria, Rahm Emanuel, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Joe Scarborough, Mark Cuban, Fran Lebowitz, Nancy Pelosi, Ray Kurzweil, Rob Reiner, Elon Musk, Sam Harris, Maggie Haberman, Eric Holder, and Steven Pinker, just for a few examples, I find that I learn a little more about the world than I knew before. YMMV Lol that’s a pretty high asshole to decent person ratio. Assholes: Probably Gavin Newsome, sort of John McWhorter (most of his essays seem to be a lot of concern trolling), Neil Degrasse Tyson is a smart fucking asshole, don’t know about Pelosi but not surprised if asshole, Elon Musk is a staggering asshole, Sam Harris is a smug misogynistic asshole, Steven Pinker…has said some asshole things, at a minimum. Let’s just say he shares ol’ Bill’s intellectual dishonesty. That’s a no thank you. \*\*Low ratio? You get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/75 "2025-08-07T23:41:40Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Lol that’s a pretty high asshole to decent person ratio. With a rather strained definition of “influential people”. ---
**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, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/76 "2025-08-07T23:44:53Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Because when Maher interviews influential people… I find that I learn a little more about the world than I knew before. Ah, that makes sense. And hey, some of the stuff you learn might even be true! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/77 "2025-08-07T23:45:44Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > OK, he might have something to say, but I couldn’t stomach more than three minutes of his bizarre vocalization pattern. > > mmm I legit understand how Big Joel doesn’t work for some people. He’s weird. I like weird. ---
**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, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/78 "2025-08-07T23:47:32Z")
I plan to watch it this evening. I like long-form video essays. Seeing a runtime of 4 hours on an **hbomberguy** video brings me _joy_. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/79 "2025-08-07T23:49:13Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > THIS thread is about a Big Joel video But which one? “Allentown”? “That’s Not Her Style”? “Turn the Lights Back On”? ---
**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, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768/80 "2025-08-07T23:59:42Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > some guy with a bad haircut droning on and on \*_makes a note not to share a picture of himself without a hat on when sharing his opinion on the ‘Dope\*_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-joel-take-down-of-bill-maher/1021768.md?page=5)