Bill Maher’s political commentary has often ignited controversy, but nowadays, his stances might be eroding the respect people have for him. Amidst the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, Maher made a controversial move by announcing the return of his talk show Real Time with Bill Maher without including the writers.
The monologue, desk piece, and New Rules segment, typically written by late-night writers, will be cut from the show airing on September 22. Maher’s writers have been on strike for the last four months as the studio failed to pay them fairly. The Writers Guild called his move disappointing and announced plans to picket the show.
Bill Maher Receives Massive Backlash For The Move
In a tweet, Bill Maher noted that he had to bring back the show for the sake of his other employees. The comedian added that he would respect the rules of the writers’ strike and exclude the segments written by his late-night writers. He concluded the tweet with a promise that the show wouldn’t disappoint the audience.
His move received severe backlash from the Twitteratis. People reacted under the account, DiscussingFilms, which reported the news and called him a “scab”. Earlier, Maher had made comments about the strikes, in which he called some of the writers’ demands “kooky” and stated that nobody was “owed a living as a writer”. DiscussingFilms wrote:
Bill Maher has opted to be a scab and bring back his talk show ‘REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER’ despite his writers still being on strike whilst the studio refuse to pay them fairly. pic.twitter.com/b2QUIe4Zgi
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 14, 2023
Most of the reactions slammed him for the move, and his supposed support for the writers’ strike in his tweet was called out. Some comments called him an “awful” and “unlikable” person, while others noted how they were not surprised at the decision made by the Politically Incorrect host.
His true colors came out
— Max Powers (@MaxPowers44) September 14, 2023
Why do this when your writers are striking? Just a awful person.
— BullsKickAss (@Bullskickass) September 14, 2023
Of course he is. Based off his recent comments about writers I’m not surprised 🙄
— Marc Chouen (@MarcChouen) September 14, 2023
This surprises me none. I’m more surprised he waited until now.
— OmniWill (@omniwill02) September 14, 2023
No amount of writers could possibly make him likeable.
— that goodfeel guy (@GrannyGoodfeels) September 14, 2023
can’t wait for him to call his writers lazy for not working for scraps
— 🌙 fu xuan prep era bryant 🥭 tybw is back 🌙 (@yungmango_) September 14, 2023
Bill Maher also recently made headlines for his take on the film, Barbie. Maher called the film “man-hating” and went on to write a rant tweet about the film. However, he was called out by podcast host Joe Rogan, who felt the outrage was unnecessary.
Bill Maher Was Earlier Called Out By Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan defended the Greta Gerwig film, which discussed issues of patriarchy, and stated that it was a fun doll film. Rogan known for his rather contentious take on such subjects, believed that the outrage was unnecessary. The film received severe criticism from the likes of Maher, Ben Shapiro, and Elon Musk.
Maher tweeted that the movie was “preachy” and a “Zombie lie”. He clarified that the latter term meant something that was never true but was constantly promoted by certain people. However, Rogan dismissed these criticisms and appreciated the film’s originality and engaging visuals. Rogan assured his audience that the movie was not anti-men but rather targeted some “dorks”.
Rogan criticized the movie’s critics, suggesting they were trying to put all men in one category without judging people as individuals. Some of Rogan’s comments directly addressed the points raised by Bill Maher in his tweet.
It seems like the talk show host will remain in the spotlight for some more time for all the wrong reasons. Interestingly, actress Drew Barrymore was also bashed for returning with her talk show amid the writers’ strike.
Source: DiscussingFilms
