The point is that Maher did not see fit to condemn either of those, just Tebow. So apparently Maher thinks that public witnessing is more worthy of his condemnation than abuse.
In other words, he is an attention-whoring idiot, as his anti-vaxx stupidity also demonstrates.
Regards,
Shodan
Why the fuck would Maher dredge up some story no one knows about, when he can take a look at CNN.com, Fox.com, MSNBC.com, Reuters, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, People, Time, Us, TV Guide, etc., and pluck off Tebow. Whether or not Maher has strong opinions about those other stories don’t enter into it. There’s no zeitgeist around them so why the hell would he crack wise on them.
And if he did … do you think there would be a thread about it here? Hell no. Tebow, baby. He’s driving this bus.
And you have now proven yourself incorrect in calling Bill Maher a troll, since what he did does not fit even your own definition of “troll”.
Maher didn’t make his statements to rile people up or get attention for himself. He already had the attention of the people he tweeted; they signed up to receive his messages. And he certainly didn’t make his tweets to rile up people who already agree with him, unless you can point out some Maher fans who suddenly started screaming for Tebow’s head on a stick.
Like Theophane, you seem to completely misunderstand the terminology you keep calling into play as well as the context and intent of this tweet.
The only trolling done in this whole affair was done by the FOX News guy who publicized the tweet, since it’s clear that he did broadcast it in order to rile people up and get attention for his own show.
Maher has been an active comedian since the late 1970s. Are you really going to make conclusions based on assumptions regarding the kinds of situations or people you guess he might have or have not mocked?
“Attention” Really Martin.. the man has several best sellers.. sells out theatres doing his tour and his show has been running on HBO for several years. Yeah.. Bill Maher needs attention..
He’s a humorist.. just as I’m not offended when Louis CK makes black jokes I find it inane that his tweet on Tebow has disturbed you. Humorist may not be your flavor of tea.. so when they say something you don’t like.. or tread on some ground you feel shouldn’t be tred on.. you go with a standby.. “Attention”? Really.. that’s quite simplistic..
So no jokes were made about Mike Vick?? Rothlisberger?? Really?? Paranoid much??
In the same vein Louis CK making jokes about black people and their habits.. or Lisa Lampnelli… etc.. But Micheal Richards yelling Nigger and saying that they should hang or use to be hung.. Obviously not funny..
I’m not a celebrity but its my understanding that any decent publicist will probably say what I’d say, that your celebrity is a fickle thing. If you’re a shock jock you need to keep getting your name out there on a regular basis or you stop being a celebrity. Celebrity is something that exists in the present tense and is very fickle.
Maybe Bill Maher didn’t tweet hoping to get a news bump, but what I know about Maher is that he’s actually a pretty smart guy. When he made comments about the 9/11 hijackers and now Tebow, I think he was doing something very deliberate. I think he was phrasing things in a way to maximally offend as many people as possible in order to get attention for himself.
I actually am not disturbed by Maher’s tweets, but I’m also not going to defend them as Maher being some benevolent force. Maher was being deliberately rude because that’s part of his schtick. There’s nothing in Maher’s tweet that would have offended me (I wasn’t offended by his comment about the 9/11 hijackers, either, I don’t really offend.) But I call a spade a spade and a troll a troll, and I think it patently obvious the intention of Maher’s comment was just to make an innocent joke but instead to get attention for himself.
That’s not a criticism, just a statement of opinion. I think every celebrity is perpetually doing things to get attention for themselves, because the moment they stop doing that, they start to move out of the news and lose a bit of their celebrity. Now, maybe some of the hardcore A-listers have built up so much institutional good will and status that they do not need to do such a thing, but Maher is not one of those people.
Again, look up the definition of “comedian.” He isn’t doing it to call attention to himself. He’s doing it to call attention to a show-boating jerk like Tebow.
Harsh words, but I agree.
Comedians call attention to themselves because that’s what comedy involves, even bad comedy. Especially bad comedy. Not every comedian is a show-boating jerk.
Nope, he’s defeinitely a provocateur. Provocateurs aren’t necessarily benevolent nor is what they say/do indicative of a benevolent motive. Even if they fancy themselves benevolent benefactors of the common man.
It goes without saying that you can’t make people laugh if they are not paying attention to you, so getting and holding attention is something a successful comedian has to do. That doesn’t support the argument that Maher is just doing this for attention or to annoy people; the primary goal is comedy. Whether it’s funny or not will vary according to your taste.
Why would you want to call attention to a show-boater?
I find the most self-righteously flamboyant, and religious, and sanctimonious, “Praising” Christian’s like Tebow are the most corrupt and morally ambiguous, they belie the devil. Long time, no call… he deserves it.
Comedians call attention to absurdity. Comedians are not in and of themselves funny, it is only the situations they expose that are funny. Good or bad, comedians do not exist to call attention to themselves.
To mock him?
The only word that applies to Tebow is ‘religious’. All the others are from your own prejudice.
Seriously, people. How long are we gonna do this crap? I do not share Tebow’s beliefs but by ALL available evidence, he is a hard-working, good-hearted kid.
You wanna heap some shame upon him? You should wait till he does something shameful. Just being religios ain’t it. I have seen many a soundbyte from Tebow and have yet to hear him speak ill of anyone.
Maybe I just haven’t been watching the right news. Have you got any cites with him talking smack, doing wrong, cheating, stealing, lying, sex-with-underage girls, point-shaving? ANYTHING other than out-and-out prejudice?
ohhh, look… I’m a great little Christian…Glory be. I will never trust him because his allegiance is to a codified lie of organized"Christian" religiosity. His salvation depends on a lie and his lie to himself, rather than a duty to humanity. I have no such illusions.
So there’s a virtue test for what celebrities can be subject of a joke now?