Bill Maher, 70, Sucks Up to Trump After Kennedy Center Award Chaos
After a messy back-and-forth over the Mark Twain Prize, the late-night host opted for praise over payback.
Olivia Ralph

Bill Maher is suddenly playing nice with Donald Trump—even after the president tried to stop a coveted award from making its way to the late-night host’s trophy case.

On Friday’s episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, the 70-year-old host addressed the week-long mess over his Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. While the comedian acknowledged the White House’s efforts to torpedo the honor, he then seemed to shrug it all off.

“I just want things to work out. I’m not looking for a fight, and I’m not mad that he did this,” Maher said in his monologue.

“Me and the president, we have a complicated relationship… this has been going on a long time, so him trying to block me from getting it? I respect the move.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/bill-maher-sucks-up-to-donald-trump-after-kennedy-center-award-chaos/

In this episode, we discuss DL's unexpected run-in with Van Jones; Joe Rogan and Andrew Schulz's influence on podcast culture; and whether the biggest voices in media are shaping reality--or being shaped by it. DL also breaks down how misinformation is driving the war in Iran, why the SAVE Act may be designed to rig elections, Bill Maher getting snubbed by Trump, and how Charlamagne tha God's role in all of this is starting to come into focus.

We also get into why Stephen A. Smith might finally be right, how Markwayne Mullin ended up in power, Steve Bannon's chilling predictions, the growing impact of podcast misinformation, and why it might be time to pull the plug on the parents from the Necessary Conversations podcast. Plus much more.

Maher shrugs off Trump’s Pearl Harbor joke: ‘You’d laugh’ if a comedian said it
by Steff Danielle Thomas

Comedian Bill Maher on Friday brushed off President Trump’s ribbing of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Pearl Harbor amid the ongoing U.S. military operation in Iran.

“He was in the Oval Office yesterday with the prime minister of Japan … and he was talking about our strike in Iran,” Maher said on his “Real Time” show. “And he said, ‘We didn’t tell anybody because we wanted it to be a surprise. Who knows better about a surprise attack than Japan?’

“I mean, is it? Is it right to say that? No. But if Shane Gillis said it, you’d laugh,” he added, referring to the stand-up comedian.

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5794573-maher-trump-japan-pearl-harbor-iran-war-gold-coin/

Bill Maher Sends Blunt Message About Oscars Diversity Campaign
Michelle Stein

On the Friday, March 13 episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, the late-night host, 70, took aim at #OscarsSoWhite during his “New Rule” segment. The campaign marks its 10th anniversary at the 98th Academy Awards.

“Someone must wear a ribbon that says, ‘We won,'” Maher joked. “Just as a way to remind progressives, hey, you’re progressive. Progress is what you’re selling. Take the win.”
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He also claimed that Academy voters were casting their votes for nominees just because they were white. “Hollywood isn’t a secret cabal of racists,” he declared. “It’s a secret cabal of people terrified of looking like racists.”

Maher continued, “I’m just tired of no matter how much progress is made, social justice warriors feeling the need to gaslight us as if none of it had happened. A couple of years ago, the Academy established a very complex rulebook that said you couldn’t even be considered for Best Picture unless you met certain criteria, like 30% of the crew, or two department heads had to be from underrepresented groups, and a main storyline had to be as well.”

https://www.tvinsider.com/1251689/bill-maher-sends-blunt-message-oscars-diversity-campaign-real-time-video/