Bill Maher simultaneously loathes Donald Trump and finds common ground with the former president’s party.
The “Real Time with Bill Maher” host sees Trump as an existential threat to democracy. Yet he simultaneously chats up conservatives on his “Club Random” podcast.
That’s not all.
Maher often sides with the Right on key culture war issues like trans women in sports.
This week, the comedian skewered Hollywood following the release of the troubling, five-part docu-series “Quiet on Set.” The production recalls the disturbing revelations behind the scenes at Nickelodeon involving child sexual abuse and more.
Maher launched into a withering attack on several targets Friday night, from the Mouse House to those supporting drag queen story hours for children.
In doing so, the childless star called out the blaring hypocrisy within his fellow progressives.
“Why am I always having to defend [children]? I don’t even like them!” Maher asked with a smile.
He shifted to an uncomfortable blend of Hollywood and politics by bringing up “Quiet on Set.”
“When the evil Governor of Florida was saying the exact same thing about kids and creepy stuff at Disney that liberals now find intolerable at Nickelodeon, he was dismissed as a hick and a bigot. But why would a kids’ content factory like Disney be all that different than the one at Nickelodeon?”
Disney’s Track Record Speaks for Itself
Maher cited several former Disney stars who recalled mistreatment while starring in various shows for the allegedly kid-friendly company. He added that at least 35 Disney park employees had been arrested for various sex crimes.
“Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because that’s where the money is, and the reason we find pedophiles in the Boy Scouts and the rectory and kids’ TV is that’s where the kids are. DeSantis wasn’t wrong. But we’re so tribal now, the left will overlook child f***ing if the guy from the wrong party calls it out. Sure, Nickelodeon messed up Amanda Bynes, but The Mickey Mouse Club was where Britney Spears got her start, and she’s perfectly fine. And get this: After Brian Peck, who was one of the lead creeps at Nickelodeon, served 16 months in prison for the molesting he did there, Disney hired him, naturally, to work on a children’s series. For pedophiles in Hollywood, it’s a small world after all.”
He then targeted the Left for supporting events like Drag Queen Story Hours, another white-hot culture war topic.
“And not just Hollywood, there are Instagram moms these days who are practically OnlyFans-ing their itty-bitty beauty queen daughters by having them wear skimpy bikinis and eat bananas to build social media stardom … And people who believe in social justice have agreed this is wrong and this is bad and exposing kids to an adult world of lurid costumes and garish makeup borders on abuse. Now, hurry up and get in the car, we’re late for drag queen story hour. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a drag queen, but maybe it’s time to admit that, sometimes, drag queen story hour is more for the queen than the kids. Sure, kids love a clown, but does the clown have to have t**s? And when I see a five-year-old tipping … tipping? at a bar under a sign that says, ‘it’s not gonna lick itself’ do I have to pretend that’s cool in order to keep my Liberal ID card? Sorry, I can’t do that. If you want kids to be more tolerant, why not have handicapped people read them stories? Kids are more likely to encounter disabled people than drag queens in life…
“At a certain point inclusion becomes promotion … that’s why endlessly talking about gender to six-year-olds isn’t just inappropriate, it’s what the law would call, ‘entrapment.’”
He finished by taking another swipe at Disney, one that had him channeling Christopher Rufo.
“It also seems to be the theme of kind of a lot of kids’ books these days,” Maher said, as he displayed a graphic showing numerous children’s books about queer topics. “I never used the phrase ‘gay agenda’ because I thought it was mostly nonsense. And it is. Mostly.”
The show cued up a viral video of a Disney executive bragging about her, “not at all secret gay agenda” and how no one at Team Disney prevented her from stopping her from that.
The clip echoed material found in Disney flops like “Lightyear” and “Strange World.”
Maher and Hollywood’s Relationship: It’s Complicated
Maher has routinely hit his own party in recent years, but his broadside against both Disney and drag queen culture marks a new chapter in that fight.
Hollywood has overwhelmingly thrown its support behind Drag Queen Story Hours in recent years. Celebrities often blur the line between drag performances, which have gone on for years without a sizable outcry from conservatives, and kid-centered story readings.
Last year, the stars united for an online telethon to support drag queen culture. Deadline.com reported the following stars took part in the “Drag Isn’t Dangerous” fundraiser.
Charlize Theron, Melissa McCarthy, Billy Eichner, Ali Wong, Adam Lambert, Amy Schumer, Jesse Eisenberg, Leslie Jones, Margaret Cho, Elizabeth Banks, Kelly Osbourne, Orville Peck, David Cross, Amber Tamblyn, Whitney Cummings, Marcia Gay Harden and Sarah Silverman.