Bill Maher doesn’t want comedians canceled for telling the “wrong” joke.
He’s made that clear on both his “Club Random” podcast and HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Few entertainers, Left or Right, have been as relentless in attacking the woke mindset, the rocket fuel behind Cancel Culture. Maher makes a living by telling jokes that make us think, laugh and sometimes squirm.
And while he understands some show biz types deserved permanent cancellation, like incarcerated movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, others deserve leniency.
Maher mentioned two of the industry’s biggest stars who deserve a second chance.
The comedian says he’s good friends with Louis CK, the comedian whose professional career ended in 2018. CK admitted to pleasuring himself in front of multiple women. The celebrated comic watched his upcoming gigs disappear as a result.
The “Louie” star rebuilt his career outside the Hollywood ecosystem, but it’s unknown if traditional show business will accept him back.
Ever.
That’s wrong, Maher said.
Some of Weinstein’s predilections came up in the conversation, which led Maher and guest Katie Couric to recall CK’s fall from grace.
Maher, who told Couric he’s “very” friendly with CK to this day, argued the disgraced comic has paid his dues for his transgressions.
“There’s no consistency on MeToo punishments,” he began. “People have done way worse things, way worse things than Louie and got nothing. There’s also, ‘How long does the punishment last?’ Forever?’”
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He alluded to CK’s ability to circumvent Hollywood, Inc., even selling out Madison Square Garden.
“Can he play anywhere in the world? Yes, but he couldn’t even do ‘this’ [podcast]. It would start the ‘how dare you’ machine” as if he’s Kanye [West] with the Jews or something,” Maher said, alluding to West’s shocking anti-semitic rants.
“The people making the rules about [MeToo] are f***ing teenagers, so they make no sense,” he added.
Woody Allen, whose films have struggled domestically since #MeToo reignited accusations of pedophilia, recently complained about all the ways the movie industry has changed for the worse. https://t.co/14DaNGjt5F
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) April 7, 2024
The conversation then steered to movie legend Woody Allen, unofficially canceled for allegations he sexually molested his daughter, Dylan Farrow, when she was a girl.
“I don’t think he committed that crime. There were two police investigations that exonerated him,” said Maher, noting how several stars who appeared in recent Allen films later apologized for taking the roles. “All of these actors regret working with him … what a bunch of p***ies.”
“It’s a very improbable crime that they’re accusing him off … plainly, the other party had motivation and was vindictive,” he said of Allen’s accusers, including ex-lover Mia Farrow.
“I just flat-out believe him,” Maher said, adding he thinks there’s a 10 percent chance Allen actually committed the molestation.
Couric pushed back, noting some troubling details found during the Allen investigations and a recent documentary on the matter.
“I don’t know, but there were some pretty sketchy and damning things in that documentary that were separate from Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow,” Couric said of Allen’s accusers. “That certainly raised some legitimate questions. He had a relationship with a high school student.”
“I don’t know, and that’s the thing,” she added about Allen’s possible guilt.
“My point is, if you don’t know and you have been exonerated by the law, then the powers that be in the virtue [signaling] world are just saying, ‘We don’t care. It just feels right that you’re wrong,’” Maher said.