Sorry Bill Maher, You've Been Cancelled

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Sun Mar 21, 2021, 05:23 AM - Edit history (1)

Daily Kos, March 20, 2021.

Tonight was the final straw.

I’ve been a regular viewer of Real Time with Bill Maher for almost all of the nearly 20 years it has aired, and it has often been one of my favorite shows. But after watching tonight’s episode, in which Maher turned nearly the entire show into a megaphone in support of the right wing “war on cancel culture”, I took a step that’s been building for a while now — I cancelled my Tivo subscription to Real Time.

Bill Maher has been someone I not only enjoyed watching, but admired in many ways. He never minced words, was highly articulate, and employed deadly wit in calling out the greed and dishonesty of the disingenuous Right. He literally put his money where his mouth was to support the liberal cause, and knowingly stuck his neck out in telling truth to power. I will always respect him for that.

But as time passed, his sharp edge grew dull, he became more chummy with adversaries, and he increasingly embraced the “mainstream media” tactic of constructing false equivalences between indiscretions on the Left and atrocities on the Right. On 11/9/2016, I entered a self-imposed blackout of all things political (for the sake of my mental health), and when I resurfaced in September of last year, the degree to which Maher had descended was quite striking. While it has always been his trademark to include right wingers on the show, some of Maher’s recent guest choices (e.g. Jenna Ellis, Kellyanne Conway) plumb the depths of shamelessness.

To make matters worse, Maher serves as no more than a punching bag when debating these deplorables, fecklessly stammering “well, OK” to their endless stream of lies, only coming to life to cheer “Now I agree with you there!” when a criticism of the Left strikes a chord. Maher has adopted many of the views of his right wing friends. In tonight’s hour long sermon on how “cancel culture” is ruining the world, he as much as implied that everyone says racist things in private, and it’s a damned shame that people have to be accountable for their words and actions — it may as well have been Tucker Carlson speaking. His extreme views on nutrition/health seem to have morphed into a Trump-like perspective on COVID,...

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/3/20/2021963/-Sorry-Bill-Maher-You-ve-Been-Cancelled

[Irish_Dem]

1. Tonight was another bad show, I am so done with this guy.

He has irritated the hell out of me for awhile.
But I cannot stomach him now.

[appalachiablue]

2. He's been playing games for several

years and is now intolerable. When I saw him say a few months ago, 'I'm a libertarian,' that was it.

[Irish_Dem]

3. I only watched him occasionally at this point, but tonight. Yuck.

He is about himself and has gone off on so many idiotic tangents.

[Rebl2]

20. Kind of

like trump?

[Irish_Dem]

23. A sophisticated, intelligent version.

But the same old stink.

[wnylib]

62. He has been libertarian at least as far back as

his old network show, Politically Incorrect, in 2001. It was cancelled by the network (ABC I think) for his comments right after 9/11 that were a joking praise of the efficiency of the 9/11 terrorists. His sponsors dropped him like a scalding hot potato and the network followed suit. He complained then that the network should have defended his free speech rights. So he has a very personal issue with "cancel culture."

I thought he was funny enough to continue watching him once in a while, although he annoyed me sometimes with his right wing chumminess. But since the pandemic, I have found a lot of personal mannerisms and attitudes hard to take.

When studios were shut down, he complained about that in his monologue and used laughter and video shots from pre pandemic shows. He would pause in his comments for the sound and video, then move on. It was so artificial that his jokes fell flat with me. Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah do much better jobs with their pandemic programs.

When small, distanced, and masked audiences were allowed again, Maher whined like a child about the restrictions. He was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel one night and complained that Kimmel seemed to be allowed a larger in person audience than Maher had.

I haven't watched him since.

[BlueTsunami2018]

4. I must have been watching a different show.

Because I thought it was a very well reasoned and rational discussion. Bill has never been a far left ideologue and expecting him to toe that line is naive.

[Auggie]

29. I agree

[Catch2.2]

32. I agree too!

Tbh, "Cancel Culture" has now been transformed into a Republican talking point, and its working. It will help them get elected next election.

[Midnight Writer]

5. I enjoy hearing opposing views and controversial takes, but not when they are based on lies.

And it is especially insulting when the lies are not called out by the host.

I used to watch this show pretty regularly, but it became one where I was shouting at the screen when the lies went unchallenged.

Civility to guests is OK, but passively accepting a crank like Conway's or Coulter's BS as merely a differing viewpoint is not.

I haven't seen it now for some time.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

7. Me too, especially after better options came along.

I pretty much switched to "The Daily Show" years ago, then "Last Week Tonight" more recently. I've learned more from watching those shows.

If I happen to watch Maher's show for awhile (usually while channel-flipping), it feels a bit like seeing a rerun of Johnny Carson with me thinking, "I used to watch that?! I didn't have better options back then, I guess."

Edit: It's not like I want Maher's show to be cancelled, though. Several people clearly still enjoy it.

[Bok_Tukalo]

6. He was a victim of cancel culture so I would cut him some slack

I do not watch his show but I know his "Politically Incorrect" show was cancelled due to comments he made so he might just be less than enamored with the practice.

[Downtown Hound]

10. Bill got cancelled for daring to say something truthful in a time when doing so was dangerous

Right wingers get canceled for being racist, stupid, ignorant, intolerant, offensive, and toxic. There is a difference. Bill should know that.

Bill was once a truly great pundit who would speak truth to power. Now he's little more than a caricature of his former self who comes off as someone way past his prime but still trying to be cool, like those guys in their 20's still trying to hang out with high school kids. But ultimately it's just embarrassing.

[BlueJac]

8. I watched a couple shows, but I have gave up on him this season!

[Hoyt]

9. Kinda like DailyKos, some of it is good and some of it is flat wrong. I'll be watching Maher next

week, just like this week.

[OMGWTF]

39. Daily Kos "cancel cultured" me for daring to say that there were unanswered questions about 9/11/01

This was way back in the GeeDub Bush era and they still won't let me on their site.

[Journeyman]

11. What Bill himself cancelled back around the time of the Iraq Attaq? . . .

You'd think he'd have learned a lesson then . . .

[RussBLib]

12. I quit watching him a year or two ago

Dropped HBO too. Not really worth $15/month.

So many other choices out there. I grew weary of his sanctimony.

[Paladin]

13. "...it may as well have been Tucker Carlson speaking."

Bullseye. Welcome to the correct side regarding Maher. I walked away from him years ago---but I'm not at all surprised he's obsessing over the "cancel culture" horseshit. Those of you still in the Maher camp: walk away from it, you'll feel better; he deserted you some time ago.

[SWBTATTReg]

14. I think that this is all due to the all important god, ratings. Every show tries to outdo the

other shows by out talking everyone else, shocking everyone that they can get away with with crude language, have guests on that literally no one will have, etc. Too many shows chasing after the all important ratings...ridiculous.

That's why in my mind, more and more actually realism is creeping into the online markets via your own computer, YouTube, etc. We are, as individuals are controlling the content on our view screens. Broadcast TV is going by the wayside, and will only get worse as the older generation keeps passing on/dying (their audience, especially faux news and other joke newscasters on faux news), as well as various commentators such as Maher etc. There are literally 1000s of so called broadcasters now, and I love it. We have so many choices on what to watch and thus, do act accordingly.

[stopdiggin]

15. not a regular for Maher

but agree that 'cancel' is a real thing. Sure the Rs are using it as weapon in the culture wars -- but that doesn't excuse the excesses that have been allowed (sometimes endorsed) on our side of the aisle. It's just a sh*tty (and intellectually lazy) way of dealing with things.

[niyad]

26. Examples, please?

[stopdiggin]

47. nope. forage someplace else.

[niyad]

52. I see. You made a very disturbing claim about our side, but, when asked to provide examples,

Last edited Sun Mar 21, 2021, 09:39 AM - Edit history (1)

make a snarky comment. Got it.

This kind of "bothsiderism" is disquieting on a progressive board.

[Voltaire2]

59. its pretty typical

[stopdiggin]

60. I think it's actually a Democratic board

so that might be part of the problem. And the difference between 'bothsiderism' and legitimate criticism for people and infraction within our own ranks is -- difficult for some.

And I will never do 'sources' on demand. It's a silly game -- and an effort to control.

[niyad]

61. You can call it whatever you please. We understand perfectly.

[Johnny2X2X]

30. Agree with this

But it’s not rampant and an issue that deserves so much attention. Bill acts like millions of people are affected. There’s these rare stories of someone getting canceled for silly reasons and he constantly finds those and acts like they happen all the time.

And people are also acting like this stuff is permanent. Often times I bet a couple months later and no one even cares anymore.

[stopdiggin]

46. yeah. this seems to be a 'thing' with Maher

and I'm really not interested in defending him, or this particular segment. I'm just inherently offended by silly sh*t that puffs itself up to be taken seriously. And silly that's taken to the point of harming people .... It's wrong, and it pisses me off.

[Lunabell]

16. He's an arrogant, misogynist pig.

I never watched him .

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

17. I watched him a handful of times when he had "Politically Incorrect".

It was obvious to me that he was a racist, misogynist jerk, and I have frequently been flabbergasted that people here so often praise him as some kind of liberal icon.

[OnDoutside]

18. I would tend to agree. I watched almost every show since 2015 but

and I just think he's lost his edge and is now frankly boring. It's become repetitive, he's out of ideas and is resorting to just throwing shit out there.

[Bev54]

19. Welcome to the otherside, quit him 10 years ago

[LenaBaby61]

21. Sorry Bill Maher, You've Been Canceled.

I've run into him many years ago at the Comedy Club here in Los Angeles (His hair was red then, yes that long ago), and enjoyed his comedic sets. When speaking with him, he was very nice, pretty smart, and I mostly agreed with his political philosophy back then. But as he's gotten older, he's grown more and more, pardon my French "SHITTY." I've run extremely hot and extremely cold with him since Politically Incorrect and let's face it, you're never going to agree with anybody 100%, but I don't watch him that much any longer. His views on Covid-19 are insane. He also allows GQP'ers to come onto his show who he allows to outright LIE like HELL without really checking them, and he also allows them to run all over him as well. Finally, I guess his bookers aren't looking for the best guests to visit his show any longer.

[bahboo]

22. we're done after years of watching his shows...

and attending RT in person a few times when we lived in Hollywood. Too self aggrandizing for us, and the bullshit about his solar panels was the last straw. I mean who gives a fuck. Too bad, because at his best, he was really something...

[Leith]

40. I know, right?

Obviously 3 years is too long to wait for state approval for building code compliance. Having worked in cumbersome bureaucracies (state government and banking) most of my adult life, I think I have a little insight.

The approval is taking so long because he has not supplied something that the state needs. I don't know what it is, but he is the one who dropped the ball, not the state. Other things in California are being built to completion all the time, but for some reason only his stuff is on hold? Not buying it.

[dlk]

24. I stopped watching Maher ages ago

He’s devolved into just another grumpy old man. The whining about cancel culture is merely a sly attempt to avoid taking responsibility. This isn’t entertaining in the least.

[SCantiGOP]

35. Me too

I haven’t seen his show in at least 5 years.

[dlk]

41. Occasionally, I'll watch if he has a guest I'd like to see

Most of the time, though, I just skip the show. He can be very annoying.

[DeSmet]

25. I think his take on cancel culture

is when it is too extreme it is a path to losing the power to govern and he is right.

[JackHughes]

27. Maher can be tiresome at times

Maher can be tiresome at times, such as his rants about nutrition and health. But his political analysis is dead on. Progressives would be wise to heed his advice about alienating voters and winning elections.

[Mickju]

28. I just unsubscribed from his YouTube channel just before I saw this.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who is fed up.

[Traildogbob]

31. Starting to tire myself

But that’s cool, don’t have to watch. His insistence that the Spa shootings was about warped religion and NOTHING to do with race or hate for women was too much. Conway was bad and The Megan Kelly show was a joke. Why did he not ask her about white Jesus and White Santa? But like Fox, I can watch other things. Some of his New Rules still pack a punch.

[bringthePaine]

33. watch what you want, who cares? forums are dicey, so better watch only what you agree with?!?

[Martin68]

34. Yes, it's sad. He's beginning to sound more like a right wing libertarian than a progressive.

Maybe he never was a progressive.

[TwilightZone]

43. I don't think he's ever claimed to be a progressive.

He's been self-identifying as a libertarian for years. Some have tried to claim he's a progressive, but I'm not sure it's ever been accurate. "Both sides" seems to have been part of his shtick for much of his career.

[Martin68]

57. Maher got my hopes up when he made that big political donation to Obama. Maybe he just saw it as the

better of two evils.

[ramapo]

36. Our tolerance ran out about a year ago

The guests were obnoxious. Bill was obnoxious. Who needs to sit through an hour of annoyance each week. Cancelled and not missed.

[40RatRod]

37. I enjoy his weekly show...

...and look forward to watching it tonight. I record it each week. I don't have to like everything he says to enjoy it. I would hate to get upset every time someone says something I don't agree with. If I did, I would be limited to democrat friends only which would make me no better than many republicans.

[ancianita]

38. The only good part last night was the data science kid. I walk out on his show every week.

Maher's weak on the facts and shallow with the humor. He can go fuck himself.

[colsohlibgal]

42. Don't Watch Him Anymore Either

Used to DVR it and watch it weekly but as time wore on he started annoying me more and more with his Libertarian stances.

[PortTack]

44. Haven't watched him in years..embraces the crazy, openly racist at times..who needs that??!

[freesqueeze]

45. I enjoy the show...

I don't always agree with him but I do like the way he stirs the pot once in a while. Like Bill, I sometimes find the woke among us irritating. The story at Teen Vogue is disturbing. Sometimes we say dumb shit....OK I guess I should change that to "I" say dumb shit. If you live long enough you say something you'll regret later. This may be a product of age (or living). If it doesn't define the person, let it go. Back to Bill...not the funniest but he consistently has interesting guests. The young data guy last night was fascinating. Where else can you hear a discussion like that on the old TV? I'm a fan of Bill's show, in spite (or maybe because) of his views that veer from liberal dogma.

[BGBD]

48. Why is it

that every week we have threads about how bad Bill Maher is and how much somebody hates his show?

I mean, if you don't like him just don't watch it. Nobody is forcing you to.

[flying rabbit]

49. One of the few shows

I watch that I can agree with most of his shit, but at the same time I can say out loud " shut the fuck up Bill". Interesting mix.

[WhiteTara]

50. I cancelled him a few years ago

He's sexist and not funny.

[Hortensis]

51. Maher: "I would be a Republican if they would. ...I like the Barry Goldwater Republican..."

From a Rolling Stone interview:

“I would be a Republican if they would. Which means that I like the Barry Goldwater Republican Party, even the Reagan Republican Party.” His choice in naming the two figures whose mission was to upend the liberal order, often through appeals to racism and white nationalism, is telling.

“I want a mean old man to watch my money,” he added. “Because government is a sieve that takes as much money as it can and gives it away, usually needlessly.”

He's all over the place on positions, but he's no liberal, that's just a schtick to sell him to the left or said to smear liberals depending on who it's coming from.

When Maher says he's libertarian, he's admitting that he despises most liberal and virtually all progressive ideals. There's almost no overlap between libertarianism and liberalism, and what there is is situational, as in temporary. Personal freedom as an ultimate principle does not equate to belief in equality or equal rights.

[Oneironaut]

53. Bill Maher is becoming like Joe Rogan

He’s becoming an annoying reactionary, and inviting fellow reactionaries on as guests.

[UGADawg]

54. I disagree. I watched it last noght.............

and agree that a lot of the cancel culture turns folks conservative.

[Grins]

55. Is this what happens to you when you fuck Ann Coulter...? NM

[PCIntern]

56. Great minds think alike.

Exactly.

[MurrayDelph]

58. I cancelled my subscription to HBO

back when he was picking on the kid who built a clock. I had already being tired of his evangelical atheism shtick that all religions are stupid but Islam is both stupid and evil, so when he started attacking the kid it as the final straw.

I have a friend who has written material for Maher in the past. Several years ago, in a private conversation, he called Maher a "talented comedian, but a horrible human being."

At least the latter is still true.