Damn, another irony meter blown to smithereens.
That particular statement about “exaggerated libel” was definitely not well worded, but any impartial non-wolfpup-hater would have clearly understood it to mean “fact based and well supported opinions”.
George Carlin was an edgy comedian. Bill Maher is an old man stuck in the '90s who’s mad at younger generations because they don’t consider casual racism and punching down to be funny anymore.
Wait, what?
I really don’t think that is at all true. Honestly - honestly, no joke - I think the reverse is true. I think only Maher-fans (and only some of them) would make such a convoluted conclusion. I think most unbiased people with no knowledge at all of Maher would think “huh, bigot” when they heard that (those that care of course, some people are in fact happy bigots). I mean it isn’t like Saudi Arabia is the source of most Arab men - there are about 36 million Saudi Arabs out of maybe ~460-475 million Arabs worldwide (there are various estimates). Frankly my first guess is that he was referring to women dating some random Arab-American guy in the United States.
Now if he subsequently walked back his bullshit, okay. Maybe I’d take it into consideration. He’s does have a reputation for being a loud edgelord who spits out trollish comments all the time just to court controversy. I might consider the possibility that he isn’t personally a bigot, he just occasionally talks like one to seem edgy and score ratings.
But ‘any impartial non-Maher would have clearly understood…’ just doesn’t logically scan to me.
You’re not entirely wrong here, but what I think you’re missing is the larger context, by which I mean that those accustomed to his style know that some of the things Maher says are clearly not meant to be taken literally. People seem to forget that he’s a comedian, first and foremost. You seem perplexed that I put a non-bigoted interpretation on the “Arab men” comment, but I did it because I know (or at least, strongly infer from all of Maher’s words and actions over previous decades) that he isn’t a racist or a bigot.
Maher is clearly wrong about some things, and I won’t defend him on those. What I’ll call his “vaccine hesitancy” is plain wrong, and his “do your own research” attitude to medical science is just plain stupid. His antagonism to the Muslim world is, as I said, rooted in a certain amount of factual reality but it tends to be extreme. Other than those things I have no real problem with him. Some people like him, some hate him, but he’s not a racist.
I appreciate your observation that Saudi Arabia is only a small-ish portion of the Arab world, but most or all of that world embraces certain barbaric practices, particularly with respect to women’s rights – I cited the article on Saudi Arabia because they’re among the worst in that respect and also very influential. The kingdom of Brunei some years ago instituted the death penalty by stoning for homosexuality (it has since been rescinded). What they all have in common is radical Islam. Bill Maher may sometimes be obnoxious and hyperbolic, but as it says on his coffee cup, “But I’m not wrong”.
That implies that this comment (I’m referring to the Ben Sasse interview, in response to “come to Nebraska and work with us in the fields”) was premeditated. As I said, I believe Maher when he apologized and said it was the instinctive response of a comedian’s mind to a rather strange comment by Sasse.
Thank you. I have no problem with people disliking Maher. My problem is with accusations that have no basis in fact.
[Pace Picante cowboy]
“Get a rope”
[PPC]
I’m not sure where her bio is; I never really looked it up. Fallon had a drinking problem, but he never laughed and laughed and became so out of control as I’ve seen her on her show. Heroin was a but much, but I knew she was high and out of control on something.
Edibles? Fine, that could explain it. Could they be interacting with her typical adult prescriptions? Something has made her on occasion high as a kite.
Do you think if might be a bit better to say that “most followers of radical Islam embrace or excuse certain barbaric practices” than alleging that “most or all of the Arab world” feels that way?
As it is, you sound a lot like Bill. Possibly you just want to come off as “edgy”, but it’s not a good look.
And I’m not wrong. 
[Moderating]
Wishing physical harm on other posters is a violation of the board rules. Please avoid this in the future.
No warning issued.
[/Moderating]
Oh, that. Could be, I guess. But my own humble opinion is that she is probably not high as a kite. Apparently taping days are an entire day of work prepping for the show that evening and she is busy most of the time. I think she just likes to laugh. Now I do think she forces laughs a lot out of politeness for the guests making jokes. I suspect it’s sort of what she sees as her job on a comedy panel show. But she’s a notorious workaholic, whose idea of a great day off is apparently sitting down on a bench somewhere writing comedy.
When she genuinely starts cracking up, I think she is just having fun. She has claimed that’s part of the reason she took the gig. A good number of the comedians who have appeared are friends of hers from the club touring circuit, some of whom she rarely gets to see anymore now that she is working larger venues like theaters. Others are personal idols/favorites.
She’s also pretty openly bipolar, so it could be that meds or not she might be a little on the manic side when in a good mood. So you could be right she’s tripping balls, but personally I doubt it. We’ll have to wait for the biopic, I guess. Or maybe her next confessional comedy tour.
Taylor Tomlinson’s standup is my favorite, but I have not been impressed by the clips of her gameshow at all. It seems like the wrong format for her, or at least for my appreciation of her work.
But “vapid”, “drunk” “high”? Nonsense.
Speaking of How Comedy Works: that’s a good example of a well-constructed funny commercial. (31 years old!)
Maher may have the ‘mind of a comedian’ but he strays more often into offensive stereotyping than I can admire. The ‘dated an Arab man’ “joke” was clearly NOT a critique of Saudi Arabian culture. (I agree with those who believe he was likely talking about American women dating Arab-American men.)
And the 2019 “Popeyes Chicken” comment to black Congressman Will Hurd is fair to criticize because it ties into negative stereotypes.
IF Maher’s response to Hurd had been something like this:
I’m not saying that that would have been a laugh-riot response (but then I don’t think the “by the Popeyes Chicken” response was funny, either). The difference is that there’s no negative stereotype about black people and magazines. But there IS a negative stereotype about chicken–connected with depicting black people as animalistic and therefore always scarfing down the fried chicken, etc.
Bill Maher’s mind always seems to go first to negative stereotypes. That’s a very low form of comedy, if it’s comedy at all.
Maybe I just don’t understand the subtleties of his humor but how is “Talk to women who’ve ever dated an Arab man. The reviews are not good.” funny?
If you’re racist against Arabs, I’m sure it’s hilarious.
I didn’t say that particular line was “funny”. I said Maher was a comedian. Meaning that different standards apply than, say, for journalists. For his entire career, his comedic style has always been provocative, sometimes hyperbolic, occasionally outrageous. That line, just like “San Francisco has basically legalized shoplifting” – which in isolation isn’t funny, either – is just the snappy provocative style with which Maher has been building his comedy for decades. Lots of people don’t like it and I’m not gonna fault them for it. But it works:
In 2005, Maher ranked at No. 38 on Comedy Central’s 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time. He received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2010. Maher has earned 41 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a win for his work as executive producer for Vice in 2014.
Bill Maher - Wikipedia
A list which includes such luminaries as (checks notes) Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Roseanne, Eddie Murphy, Ellen, Sam Kinison, Dave Chappelle, Andrew Dice Clay, Gallagher, and Louis CK.
Are you sure that’s the crowd you want to compare him to when you’re trying to argue that he isn’t a racist sexist shithead?
I suppose his anti global warming and anti vax material is just Maher using his provocative and hyperbole comedy style to bring the elites down a peg or two. Just like his edgelord anti woke schtick.
I guess it reflects more on the viewer as to which one they find biting and hilarious, and which they find problematic.
Then again, Maher isn’t looking for laughs, he’s looking for applause and congratulations on his genius.
… and a pat on the head and a ‘Good Boy…!’…
“Want your check? Now… shake hands… roll over… Speak! Here you go…”
I think you’re very confused about what I was arguing when I cited that list of top comedians. And certainly have very confused ideas about what “good comedian” means. Most of those people were very, very funny and highly accomplished. A few were shitty human beings. What do you think that proves? That’s a list of successful, funny comedians, not nominations for sainthood.
My point in talking about Maher’s comedic style was that he’s been very successful, nothing more. That list is an endorsement of the fact that Maher’s edgy comedy works, not an endorsement of his character. If some don’t like him, that’s fine. But if some want to call him a “racist” I think they should provide real evidence or shut up.
Ok so in order to be funny he needs to be offensive and so this offensiveness infects everything he does. Lovely. Thanks, I’ll just stick to those news Comedians (Stewart, Colbert, Oliver, Bee etc.) who can seem to be able to be funny (generally much funnier than Maher) and yet not make racist statements.