# Real Time with Bill Maher **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367 "2023-10-10T21:03:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 57
**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:** [October 1, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1121 "2025-10-01T21:29:51Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I only know the name because I watched a lot of standup comedy in the late 80s and early 90s and he hosted a show on Comedy Central. Other than being in GLOW, I had no idea what he’d been up to in the last thirty years. Good for him for being so successful. FWIW, after learning about it in this thread, I loaded up his podcast and listened for the first time. I guess I expected comedy? Well, sometimes it’s _about_ comedians and the comedic process, but based on the Judd Apatow compilation episode and the Jamie Lee Curtis episode I am absolutely floored by the level of intimate, heavy shit that famous people are willing to share with this man. This is not a fluff podcast. This is Mike Destafano describing his wife’s last motorcycle ride while she’s dying of AIDS. Maria Bamford talking about her abusive relationship while Marc discusses his own rage issues. Gallagher losing his shit and storming out when called out for his bigoted acts. I don’t even want to say high drama. High _depth._ I’m not entirely sure how he does it because there’s nothing in his style that really stands out to me. Chris Hardwick was one of the best at this, on his Nerdist podcast, but I have to say Maron’s show eclipses even that. For some reason, these people just sit down to talk to him and open a vein. It’s exceptional. (I take it back, something does stand out to me. He is completely non-judgmental and 100% willing to bring out his own shit. So he can have an authentic conversation about drug addiction with Jamie Lee because they’ve both been there, and I think his openness about his own traumas and his own flaws goes a long way to put guests at ease.) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1122 "2025-10-26T03:33:57Z")
Maher says vote for the creepy Italian, not the scary Moozlem. > **[Bill Maher Endorses Cuomo, Brings Up 1993 Trade Center Bombing In Criticizing...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/bill-maher-slams-mamdani-endorses-201231488.html)** > > The "Real Time" host also said Zohran Mamdani was born in a country "where they kill homosexuals" and brought up the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2025, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1123 "2025-10-26T16:33:45Z")
I will just note FTR that that was a really good episode, featuring an interview with Democratic governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear, and former RNC chairman Michael Steele and former Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield as panelists. The comment about Mamdani was just Maher going on with his old complaint that the Democratic Party was injuring itself with some of its positions, and that Mamdani would create a negative image on a national level that would hurt them. Both of his guests disagreed with him, to which Maher replied, “well, that’s why this is a debate program”. IOW, it was a very informative show with intelligent discussion among intelligent people **and this is why I watch it**. So I have no idea what point you (or HuffPost) are trying to make here. It’s very old news that Maher believes, rightly or wrongly, that the Dems are hurting themselves by being too “woke”. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1124 "2025-10-26T17:01:39Z")
That Maher is using racist dog whistles to poison the well of this particular “debate”? ---
**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:** [October 26, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1125 "2025-10-26T17:05:40Z")
No.   ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1126 "2025-10-26T17:44:21Z")
From the article that @Smapti linked: > [@](#): > > Maher doubled down, claiming he would renounce his citizenship from a country whose “government policy” was to kill homosexuals. Uganda executes people who engage in same-sex acts with minors, the disabled and people over 75, per the Human Rights Watch. Not a good color on you, Bill. Not even a little bit. I didn’t see the episode, so maybe the quote is taken entirely out of context. Still … ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1127 "2025-10-26T18:36:56Z")
Attacking someone solely because of what country they came from is unambiguously racist. Anyone who continues to patronize that show should be ashamed. > [@duality72](#): > > That Maher is using racist dog whistles What makes something a dog whistle is that it’s coded in some way that only certain people (especially those who support that opinion) will get it. It doesn’t apply to just blatantly saying it out loud. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1128 "2025-10-26T19:21:59Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Attacking someone solely because of what country they came from is unambiguously racist. Of course. But that’s not what Maher said. His view, in essence, was that the Democratic Party was injuring itself with some of its positions, and that Mamdani would create a negative image on a national level that would hurt them. He never “attacked” Mamdani, although he did suggest that someone with citizenship from such an odious country might have done well to renounce it. You don’t have to agree with any of this, but let’s at least keep our facts straight. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Anyone who continues to patronize that show should be ashamed. With all respect, this is uninformed bullshit. Did you see the show? It was a very informative show with, as I said earlier, Democratic governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear, and former RNC chairman Michael Steele and former Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield as panelists. It was an hour of intelligent conversation. So Maher blurted out one of his anti-woke opinions again, over a period of about 3 or 4 minutes of a 60-minute show, during which his panelists disagreed with him. I enjoyed the informative conversation, and I’m not ashamed of watching it. I don’t have to agree with Maher, and I often don’t, but that doesn’t prevent me from appreciating the conversations that he brings to the table. Honestly, the quote from @Smapti makes me question the journalistic integrity and agenda-driven motivations of HuffPost. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1129 "2025-10-26T20:09:13Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > But that’s not what Maher said. _Proceeds to describe Maher saying that exactly_ ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1130 "2025-10-26T20:42:51Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Attacking someone solely because of what country they came from is unambiguously racist. This. The entire argument that one’s nation of birth determines whether not one should receive votes (aside from Constitutional factors) is pernicious. Anyone from the US could be attacked for ‘coming from a country in which Donald Trump was given power by a minority of eligible voters.’ And some people DO operate on that guilt-by-association basis, fallacious though it is. Mamdani’s country of birth is irrelevant to Mamdani’s positions and values. If Maher wanted to list such positions and claim them as his reason for urging viewers to support Mamdani’s opponent, that would be respectable. Claiming that Mamdani is disqualified by virtue of the country his mother was in when she gave birth to him is decidedly NOT respectable. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1131 "2025-10-26T20:58:18Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Claiming that Mamdani is disqualified by virtue of the country his mother was in when she gave birth to him is decidedly NOT respectable. An idea that Maher shares with Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1132 "2025-10-26T21:09:02Z")
Yeah, not to Maher’s credit at all. He’s always been vocally anti-Muslim, though he usually excuses it by saying he’s anti ALL religions. I believe he’s sincere about the latter, but it does appear from comments he’s made over the decades that Islam bothers him a bit more than do other religions. This is from 2017 (and thus doesn’t mention Mamdani), but details some of Maher’s history of comments on Islam: > [@](#): > > Consider, for example, comedian and TV host Bill Maher. His Islamophobia is well-known. There are endless examples to pick from when it comes to Maher’s anti-Muslim sentiments, but he outdid himself in an October 2010 episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” his talk show on HBO. Maher confessed that he was afraid that so many babies with the name Muhammad were being born in Western countries. Addressing his panel, Maher asked, “Am I a racist to feel alarmed by that? Because I am. And it’s not because of the race; it’s because of the religion. I don’t have to apologize, do I, for not wanting the Western world to be taken over by Islam in 300 years?” > **[Bill Maher Makes Us Dumber: How Ignorance, Fear and Stupid Pop-Culture...](https://www.cfr.org/blog/bill-maher-makes-us-dumber-how-ignorance-fear-and-stupid-pop-culture-cliches-shape-americans)** > > Americans used to be just ignorant about Muslims and the Middle East. Now we're also fearful, stupid and wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1133 "2025-10-26T22:13:51Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > So Maher blurted out one of his anti-woke opinions again, over a period of about 3 or 4 minutes of a 60-minute show Yeah, what’s all the fuss about? It’s like when the news media hypes a jet plane crash where all the passengers were killed, when a thousand other flights the same day landed safely. ---
**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:** [November 9, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1134 "2025-11-09T21:39:17Z")
A couple of minor comments about last Friday’s show, with Florida Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz and Bill O’Reilly on the panel. OMG, does O’Reilly ever look old compared to how I remember him! He looks like he’s at death’s door. There were a couple of interesting exchanges between the two Bills. When O’Reilly said something critical to Maher, Maher instantly responded, “Yeah, but I still have a show, and you don’t!” 😁 There was also a brief discussion of white supremacist, homophobe, misogynist, and anti-semite Nick Fuentes. O’Reilly, knowing that Maher sometimes has controversial figures on the show, asked Maher if he’d ever have Fuentes on his show. Maher’s firm “no” was also immediate. “That’s a bridge too far, even for me”. FWIW. ---
**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:** [November 9, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1135 "2025-11-09T21:50:24Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Yeah, what’s all the fuss about? Well, I guess it’s because it’s a well financed POS show jammed down our throats on both HBO and on CNN as some kind of even keeled political ‘informational show’ when in reality it is an ‘entertainment show’ that tries to tell mainstream America that eating trumps bull shit tastes better if you add Bay Leaf and Salt. If Bill Maher was dropped from 20,000 feet into the deep South Atlantic, I’d feel badly for the crabs and lobster that would digest his shitty ass. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1136 "2025-11-18T17:59:46Z")
Maher had the great Patton Oswalt on his podcast, and proceeded to make shit up about California birth certificates: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/UlR7LyQh9wM/maxresdefault.jpg "Patton Oswalt | Club Random with Bill Maher") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlR7LyQh9wM) Discussion is around the 1 hour 14 minute mark. Patton is skeptical, but they don’t fact check in real time, and just move on. But the confidence with which Maher spreads an easily disprovable lie is a quick example of his particular brand of arrogant bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1137 "2025-11-18T18:05:45Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Discussion is around the 1 hour 14 minute mark. Patton is skeptical, but they don’t fact check in real time, and just move on. But the confidence with which Maher spreads an easily disprovable lie is a quick example of his particular brand of arrogant bullshit. That doesn’t even make sense, what he’s saying. The terminology used by “woke left” people acknowledges assigning sex at birth; hence why we have the terms “assigned female/male at birth”. It just shows me that Maher just doesn’t understand what he’s talking about. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1138 "2025-11-18T18:13:00Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Maher had the great Patton Oswalt on his podcast, and proceeded to make shit up about California birth certificates: I have three points to make here. First, Maher is **not** wrong, though he may not have spelled out all the details: > **[Update your gender marker or sex identifier on your identity documents |...](https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/gender-recognition/update-gender-marker-ID-documents)** > > California Birth Certificate Update (amend) your California Birth Certificate through the California Department of Public Health. If you have more questions, contact Vital Records at the Department of Public Health. Second, I think these relaxed podcasts can offer really interesting insights into his different guests in ways that the more formal show cannot. Kudos to Maher for originating this format. Third, this Friday will be Maher’s last show of the season, and it makes me sad. The lucky bastard is off work from before Thanksgiving until mid-January. And John Oliver just signed off his last show of the season last Sunday, and won’t be back until February. To be fair, it’s not that either of these guys are lazy or demanding; they just have a limited number of shows that are funded, and that’s how the schedules work out. Nice job if you can get it, though! ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1139 "2025-11-18T18:18:57Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Discussion is around the 1 hour 14 minute mark. Patton is skeptical, but they don’t fact check in real time, and just move on. But the confidence with which Maher spreads an easily disprovable lie is a quick example of his particular brand of arrogant bullshit. He’s probably mixing up multiple stories. California didn’t make it so that birth certificates don’t have a gender on them when you are born, but California _did_ make it such that you can amend your birth certificate later on to change the sex or make it nonbinary, per a law passed in 2017 and implemented in 2018. The idea of removing sex from birth certificates isn’t a law in California, but it was proposed a number of times; I remember that specifically because there was a thread on this on the Dope when PA proposed it a few years ago: > [@PA looking at removing sex from birth certificates](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pa-looking-at-removing-sex-from-birth-certificates/1013583): > > I think it’s a good idea. Doubtless some fool will pitch a fit about the idea, though. It was proposed by Democrats, and will obviously be leaped upon by the GOP. Almost seems foolish to even propose the idea. [https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-lawmakers-propose-removing-gender-from-birth-certificates/](https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-lawmakers-propose-removing-gender-from-birth-certificates/) That law didn’t pass (although funnily enough when I tried to look it up I saw that articles from 2025 about PA lawmakers with the same proposal). But the idea of removing sex from birth certificates is what Maher was alluding to, and he’s certainly not lying about that being a thing that was getting pushed. Hell, go read the linked thread - plenty of people here defended the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1140 "2025-11-18T18:19:37Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > First, Maher is **not** wrong, though he may not have spelled out all the details: He isn’t? Can you quote where it says that babies don’t have an indicator of sex on their birth certificate? That just says you can _change_ what’s on the certificate, which has nothing to do with what Maher was saying. > [@Babale](#): > > But the idea of removing sex from birth certificates is what Maher was alluding to, and he’s certainly not lying about that being a thing that was getting pushed. That wasn’t his claim though. He said it was law. Not that someone has proposed it at some point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=56) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=58)