# Bill Maher slammed by Seth Meyers’ writer Amber Ruffin in award-host monologue **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757 "2018-02-13T12:21:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/1 "2018-02-13T12:21:08Z")
Amber Ruffin is a writer on Seth Meyer’s late night show. She is featured in skits and is really charming and funny. She is getting her own sitcom pilot, about her experiences living in Amsterdam and marrying a white Dutch guy. So she ended up hosting the Writers Guild Awards - yeah, I wasn’t fully aware of these awards but since every freakin’ Guild has their own awards now, so be it. During her monologue, she shares that she is the first black woman writer on a late night show. She calls out Seth Meyers as being Woke, then calls our Robin Thede, the black woman host of a new BET late night show. Then she calls out Jordan Klepper and then John Oliver. And then she says “and Bill Maher!!..”, then pauses, and then she says “go fuck yourself!” and moves on to the next joke. Guess his reference to “House N-word” and other such provocative slips are not appreciated by Ms. Ruffin. Article and clip of video here: [Amber Ruffin Shades Bill Maher in Writers Guild Monologue](http://www.vulture.com/2018/02/amber-ruffin-shades-bill-maher-in-writers-guild-monologue.html) ETA: by the way, see the article’s title? “Amber Ruffin shades Bill Maher…”. Hmm. “Shades”? I thought that refers to a low-key, passive aggressive slam. This was not shade - this was a stab-you-in-the-front insult. Has the definition of shade broadened? I have no clue. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/2 "2018-02-13T13:37:25Z")
Dang if I understand the stuff kids say/write today, but I thought that to “call out” someone was a diss thang (“I‘m calling you out dude!). Whereas a “shout out” was a good thing. The shades of “shade” are a mystery to me. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/3 "2018-02-13T14:37:38Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Dang if I understand the stuff kids say/write today, but I thought that to “call out” someone was a diss thang (“I‘m calling you out dude!). Whereas a “shout out” was a good thing. The shades of “shade” are a mystery to me. Yeah, now that you mention it. Sorry for any confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/4 "2018-02-13T15:03:34Z")
Some obnoxious woman insults someone and that is news? Did anyone watch the video, that woman is obnoxious as fuck. Being a liberal sucks sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/5 "2018-02-13T15:30:59Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Some obnoxious woman insults someone and that is news? Did anyone watch the video, that woman is obnoxious as fuck. > > Being a liberal sucks sometimes. Being loud is not a good substitute for funny. She certainly hasn’t been the first to try it. I was waiting for a joke. Maybe she is a good writer and I would appreciate her material if I heard more of it. Then again I’m not too impressed with the jokes that go on air on the show she writes for. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/6 "2018-02-13T15:47:47Z")
Here is a bit of hers from the show - she reads Trump’s first Black History Month speech: [Amber Reads Donald Trump's Black History Month Speech with Commentary - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elg1BF_hfII) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/7 "2018-02-13T16:12:42Z")
Maybe there’s an inside joke there somewhere, but I don’t get it. I know Maher ticks off some liberals, but without context “go fuck yourself” just kinda hangs out there like a, a, a, great big nothing burger. More often than not, I just think some people need to get over themselves. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/8 "2018-02-13T16:35:47Z")
Anybody telling Bill Maher to go fuck himself is A-OK in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/9 "2018-02-13T16:40:52Z")
You guys have to keep up. Miss a day and you’re out of the loop. Ruffin was certainly referring to what Maher said to generate this headline: [Bill Maher says the #MeToo movement is creating a ‘police state’ for sex and insists a portion of ‘f\*\*\*ing fragile’ millennials are partly to blame](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5379905/Bill-Maher-says-MeToo-creating-police-state-sex.html). I watch Seth Meyers all the time and she is consistently great in her bits. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/10 "2018-02-13T16:46:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You guys have to keep up. Miss a day and you’re out of the loop. > > Ruffin was certainly referring to what Maher said to generate this headline: [Bill Maher says the #MeToo movement is creating a ‘police state’ for sex and insists a portion of ‘f\*\*\*ing fragile’ millennials are partly to blame](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5379905/Bill-Maher-says-MeToo-creating-police-state-sex.html). > > I watch Seth Meyers all the time and she is consistently great in her bits. I watch Maher’s show religiously (heh), and I saw that episode on Sunday. His argument was a lot more nuanced than that, and if you listen to the whole thing, I think it’s fair to say that “fuck you” is a ridiculous overreaction, if that is what she is getting at. But that type of discussion is better suited to a different forum, so I’ll just leave it at that. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/11 "2018-02-13T17:06:33Z")
Here’s the Maher #MeToo conversation from the last show. I don’t think I heard him or his guest say anything that I don’t agree with. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/E6lCPvwiIqo/maxresdefault.jpg "Bari Weiss on #MeToo | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6lCPvwiIqo) ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/12 "2018-02-13T17:11:44Z")
I think Amber Ruffin would be a delightful dinner guest at my house. I think Bil Maher would be an annoying dinner guest at my house. Therefore, I’m on Amber’s side. (Sometimes you just have to break these disputes down to simple criteria.) ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/13 "2018-02-13T18:14:42Z")
Bill Maher is one of the few people who actually stop to think before they jerk their knee. I wish there were more like him. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/14 "2018-02-13T18:32:20Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I watch Seth Meyers all the time and she is consistently great in her bits. Yes she is. She has an infectious smile. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/15 "2018-02-13T18:41:26Z")
Amber Ruffin is awesome on Seth Meyers and on Drunk History. Bill Maher is terrible and does that fake laugh at his jokes because if not, we wouldn’t know they were supposed to be funny. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/16 "2018-02-14T15:02:10Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Anybody telling Bill Maher to go fuck himself is A-OK in my book. I’ll second that! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/17 "2018-02-14T15:45:16Z")
Haven’t watched Bill Maher because it seems like every time I see him, he’s doing this arrogant smirk to a camera which seems to be permanently stationed to the side for just that. That and I just don’t care for people who say controversial things just to get a reaction. Those people are called Trolls. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s my persistent impression of him. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/18 "2018-02-14T16:24:32Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > So she ended up hosting the Writers Guild Awards - yeah, I wasn’t fully aware of these awards but since every freakin’ Guild has their own awards now, so be it. The WGA awards have been around since 1949. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/19 "2018-02-14T16:51:50Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > The WGA awards have been around since 1949. Not surprising to hear. I am sure the Producers, Directors, Screen Actors, Editors, etc. have had their versions of awards for decades. It just seems like each of them has gotten dolled up and is bidding to be a “media event” in a way that they didn’t a decade or three ago. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757/20 "2018-02-14T17:00:34Z")
I saw Bill Maher in concert a couple of years ago. He was fantastically funny. He was also far more nuanced when given the time to stretch the routines out than during his one-liner monologues on his show. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-slammed-by-seth-meyers-writer-amber-ruffin-in-award-host-monologue/808757.md?page=2)