Maher's Mask Slips: Punching Down While the Republic Burns

[AStern]

Maher’s Mask Slips: Punching Down
While the Republic Burns
By Tony Pentimalli

Bill Maher used to be a court jester with teeth—a truth-teller in a clown’s costume. But lately, he’s become something else entirely: a fading contrarian who mistakes cruelty for comedy and self-satisfaction for insight. This transformation has been happening for some time—not merely weeks. But last week, he laid down yet another plank in a rickety bridge between liberalism and authoritarianism—an ugly hybrid where fascism wears the mask of centrism and cynicism becomes a stand-in for depth.

It began with Maher’s embarrassing “book report” on his recent dinner with Donald Trump. Rather than hold a man accountable for inciting insurrection, gutting environmental and labor protections, or launching mass deportation raids, Maher chose to play the bemused guest—more interested in menu details than moral stakes. He didn’t push back. He didn’t challenge. He didn’t even blink.

And then, as if to compensate for his own cowardice, Maher followed it up by doing what he now does best: punching down. This time, his target was an entire generation.

In Friday’s “New Rules” segment, Maher took aim at Gen Z with a tirade so smug, so divorced from reality, it bordered on parody. He accused them of being too soft, too lazy, too mentally ill, too fragile for “real work”—a rant that sounded less like satire and more like a Fox News audition tape. He mocked their emotional support animals, their anxiety, their fashion, their aversion to factory jobs—as if they were the ones who hollowed out the middle class and shipped industry overseas.

He quipped that Gen Z “can’t handle a gig at the Cheesecake Factory,” ignoring that many of them are working multiple jobs just to make rent in cities where boomers bought homes for pennies. He ridiculed them for not wanting to shower after imaginary shifts in steel mills, while ignoring the truth: that blue-collar jobs have been decimated not by Gen Z’s attitude, but by deregulation, union-busting, and corporate greed.

And when he derided their mental health—scoffing at the idea that anxiety, depression, or trauma might make them unfit for war or factory lines—he wasn’t just mocking Gen Z. He was mocking the reality of living in a world his generation broke.

To Maher, needing mental health care is a punchline. To Gen Z, it’s a lifeline. What he derides as weakness is actually their refusal to repeat the silent suffering of generations past. They are not the first to be overwhelmed—they are just the first to name it out loud.

Let’s not pretend this is a generation allergic to work. They are drowning in student debt—$1.7 trillion and climbing. They face a federal minimum wage that hasn’t budged since 2009. They’re priced out of housing markets, buried by healthcare costs, and forced into gig work with no benefits, no security, and no future. And when they ask why—when they organize, protest, and demand something better—Maher sneers.

He even mocked their reluctance to be drafted, calling them soft. But here’s the truth: Gen Z is not afraid of hard things. They’re afraid of being sent to die in wars started by men like Trump and normalized by men like Maher. Wars for oil. Wars for ego. Wars for empire.

And when Maher mocked their desire to be influencers—scoffing that 57% would rather post videos than punch clocks—he conveniently forgot that he’s one of them. He’s built an entire career around influencing public opinion. He doesn’t weld steel or stock shelves. He performs. Talks. Gestures. Tapes. He is, in every sense, an influencer—just one with fewer filters and a lot more contempt.

But even here, he misses the point. For many Gen Z creators, influencing is one of the few economic ladders left. It's not about narcissism—it’s about survival. When the only industries hiring are content farms, student loan servicers, and military recruiters, what exactly are they supposed to do? Pretend it’s 1955 and get a factory job that no longer exists?

Maher’s entire monologue was built on a lie. The Trump administration is not bringing back factory jobs. The tariffs aren’t working. The plants aren’t opening. The jobs aren’t returning. What we are seeing instead is chaos—markets in freefall, federal programs gutted, air traffic controllers fired by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, and social services slashed in the name of “tough love.”

The only factories Trump is building are political: mass production centers for cruelty, authoritarianism, and oligarchy. And while Maher winks at the nostalgia of “real men smoking on skyscrapers,” he ignores what’s actually happening at street level.

Because the real difference isn’t age—it’s urgency.

Gen Z is marching while Maher is mocking. They are organizing while he’s editorializing. They are demanding a future while he smirks from his studio, lobbing lazy insults from a chair more expensive than their monthly rent.

When historians look back on this era, Maher won’t be remembered as the man who challenged power. He’ll be remembered as the man who normalized it—who dined with tyrants and made jokes about the kids fighting to undo their damage. He’ll be remembered not for standing up, but for sitting down—laughing while the empire cracked.

Maher says Gen Z can’t do “hard jobs.” I say they’ve inherited the hardest job of all: surviving the collapse of everything Maher’s generation failed to fix.

And still, they rise.

*Tony Pentimalli is a political analyst and commentator fighting for democracy, economic justice, and social equity. Follow him for sharp analysis and hard-hitting critiques on Facebook and BlueSky
@tonywriteshere.bsky.social

[pandr32]

1. I will never watch him again.

I'm sure others feel the same.
Ahh well- has many asshats to pick his friends and guests from. I doubt he cares about those viewers he loses.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

2. That smug POS is so utterly repellant.

[hlthe2b]

26. Yup... Maybe Trump's psychoanalysts ("Shrinking Trump" ) might want a week off to tackle this fragile psyche....

Although many of us could take a good "stab" at it.

[Bluetus]

53. He is just the current version of Victoria Jackson or what-his-name?

Who was that guy from SNL that kept showing up doing RW stand-up and bits -- not funny, just snide? I can't remember his name, as if anybody else could.

Anyway, that's apparently the space Maher is trying to take for his own. I guess it is too crowded in the comedy lane where jokes are funny or at least thoughtful. Much easier just to talk as if having some superior insights that anybody would want to listen to.

It is sad to watch him circle the drain. At one time, he had something to offer. He was never very funny, but at least he took some smart shots at hypocrisy. But now he just seems angry. Oh well, the world doesn't owe him a living in comedy. He can sell insurance or something.

[MurrayDelph]

101. I have a comedy writer friend

who says that Victoria Jackson used to be nice but went crazy. Bill Maher, on the other hand, he describes as a "horrible human being."

[Bluetus]

105. Here's a strange mashup

[Don1]

110. If you were thinking of Dennis Miller

I had the same exact thought. There's something terribly awful about conservative comedy because, yes, it's "snide"--your word. As Maher moves rightward, his comedy gets worse. It becomes more about punching down, more ignorant, more cruel than actual reality-based jokes, far less The-Emperor-Has-No-Clothes punchlines and just more hippie punches for credibility in order to market his show to an imagined center.

[Bluetus]

118. Right. That's the guy.

Snark and irony used in good measure can be at least a little entertaining. But when that's all ya got, it gets tiresome after about 2 minutes, particularly when the snark is based on one's disdain for the rest of humanity.

I agree with your comments about Maher. His descent into punching down really has no comedic action. It is just mean and angry. I enjoy a little bit of Lewis Black from time to time because, while his schtick is "angry guy", it is not punching down. He is mainly punching at hypocrisy, and one always has the feeling that the angry thing is an act he has to psych himself up for, and he's probably a pretty fun guy to hang with when he's not doing his act. He's more like a Don Quixote character, sparring at windmills.

I can't imagine a more unpleasant situation than having dinner with Trump and Maher at Mar-a-lardo

[orleans]

129. are you thinking of dennis miller? he's a big rw asshole too nt

[Bluetus]

131. Yep. I have no idea why I couldn't remember his name

Other than the fact that he is an irrelevant asshole who was never funny even before heading to the sewer.

[AStern]

133. You couldn't remember because no one pays attention to him any more. LOL.

No one in comedy circles talks about him. I had to google him to see what he was up to these days... not much if anything. LOL.

[Ptah]

7. !

[Littlered]

14. I don't understand that emoji.

Then again, I do seem to be out of step these days.

[Ptah]

30. Facepalm:

A facepalm is the physical gesture of placing one's hand across one's face, lowering one's face into one's hand or hands or covering or closing one's eyes. The gesture is often exaggerated by giving the motion more force and making a slapping noise when the hand comes in contact with the face. The gesture is found in many cultures as a display of frustration, disappointment, exasperation, embarrassment, horror, shock, surprise, exhaustion, sarcasm, shame, or incredulous disbelief.

[Littlered]

33. Ah, thank you.

[AStern]

15. Oh no, did someone mistake accountability for a "hurt feelings" session?

How quaint. If your idea of “seeing clearly” is nodding along while Maher takes lazy potshots at people struggling to survive a rigged system, congrats—you’re not “old school,” you’re just comfortably out of touch. And if you’re feeling “persona non grata,” maybe it’s because mocking mental health, minimizing systemic collapse, and cozying up to fascists doesn’t exactly scream moral clarity. It screams entitlement dressed up as insight.

[AStern]

23. "Projecting" is a convenient way to deflect when you don't have a real rebuttal.

But if calling out Maher for platforming power, mocking mental health, and swinging down instead of up feels like a personal attack, maybe the discomfort says more than you want it to.

This isn’t about being “upset.” It’s about recognizing when someone trades insight for smugness and hides behind the label of “comedian” to avoid accountability. Offending people isn’t the goal of political comedy—challenging power is. If you’re just punching the vulnerable for laughs, you’re not edgy. You’re lazy.

And bringing up Michael Moore is just a red herring. One held a mirror to the system. The other’s polishing it over dinner.

[AStern]

41. "Fellow Democrat"?

You mean the guy who called vaccine mandates Orwellian, platformed Milo, applauded Bannon, mocked climate and trans activists, dined with Trump, and cozied up to David Zaslav while mocking writers and actors during a strike? That guy?

Maher doesn’t challenge power—he flatters it. Whether it’s Elon, Trump-adjacent grifters, or studio execs gutting the arts, he’s right there with a smirk and a punchline aimed anywhere but up.

And yes, many of us watched him. Long enough to clock the shift from sharp satire to lazy contrarianism. When he dismissed Timothy Snyder—a literal scholar of authoritarianism—for being too alarmist while Trump dismantled democratic norms, that wasn’t edgy. That was willful ignorance masquerading as centrism.

Criticism isn’t “hate.” It’s clarity. If someone builds a platform by sneering at the vulnerable and giving power a pass, calling it out isn’t divisive—it’s honest. If your version of the “big tent” requires silence in the face of that, maybe the problem isn’t the critics—it’s the tent.

[SocialDemocrat61]

51. Maher is not a democrat

Never has been. He’s always been an independent.

[SarcasticSatyr]

116. Actually, he's always identified as a Libertarian . . .

He used to say the only policy he really cared about was the legalization of pot.

[SocialDemocrat61]

117. True, but that's ideology

not political party. There he has always said that he's an independent.

[reACTIONary]

123. With a little "l".

[Dawson Leery]

4. No generation had it easier than the Boomers.

Maher is spoiled. His true colors have been revealed.

[Avalon Sparks]

43. Because it is 100% true about many, and all the ones I know

Eom

[Paladin]

18. Wish I could share your message with my Boomer cousin.

I'm sure he'd like to hear how easy his generation had it. Unfortunately, he came back from the war in Southeast Asia, got deeply into drugs, and ended up blowing his own brains out, without leaving so much as a goodbye note to his parents or the rest of the family.

Might be a good idea to leave the generation-bashing to pieces of shit like Maher. He gets paid a lot more than you do for spreading such unpleasant sentiments.

[yardwork]

22. Amen.

[Hekate]

72. Amen indeed

[KT2000]

24. Boomers were in the streets

to stop a war, fight for civil rights, fight for women's rights, women's healthcare, and clean up the environment. The younger generations are enjoying the benefits of those efforts, not realizing how hard fought they were. If we did not go to Viet Nam, we prayed for our brothers, cousins, classmates, friends, and fathers who were there. Not all came home, and some were a mess when they did come home.
We knew we could get clubbed and maced, but we went to the streets anyway. I had a cousin there and a brother-in-law there and my brother was next.

Obviously I take issue with your statement. I also realize the RW is trying to roll back the advancements made from that consciousness raising time.

[Justice matters.]

39. Yep. Four dead in Ohio have been forgotten...

By too many.

It seems.

[AStern]

44. I think Maher was still in high school at that point...

most likely mocking those 4 dead students.

[KT2000]

78. We left school

to attend that demonstration in Seattle. It turned out to be the worst with busloads of cops removing their names and badges, using clubs and mace. It was a turning point, such shame.

[misanthrope]

91. They were in places where it was popular to do so

Not everywhere. It depended on the dominant culture in the areas where they lived. You didn't find the large-scale anti-war protests in the Deep South to same extent as you did in the northeast, midwest and West Coast.

At this point, it would also be difficult to separate those who had a deep commitment to the cause from those who were simply caught up in trendy behavior, as so many youngsters of numerous generations are prone to do. The evidence from the following years would show that a lot of the dedication to the counter-cultural values that were so prominent then were quickly cast aside just a decade later.

[KT2000]

95. I believe the results bear it out

Through my life I have learned that most people do not rise up, rock the boat, or risk much discomfort for themselves. True, most people are observers of events around them, but the boomers did step up! People saw injustice and tried to fix it. There was an avenue to do that in the boomer generation.

Learning that women could die from illegal abortions brought many women to that cause. Planned Parenthood is still providing medical care to women. Knowing that most of the young men around us could be drafted into the Viet Nam war brought a lot of people to that cause. The draft was ended. We are still dealing with the fallout from that war - PTSD, homeless vets, cuts to medica care for veterans. Civil rights made progress as organizations sprang up that could take to court violations of civil rights laws. Many of those organizations are still operating. Equal pay is still making progress but not there yet. Many environmental groups got their start in the 70s and many are still working on those issues to this day.
If you lived near a military base or defense manufacturer during the Cold War, the prospect of nuclear war was a real threat - daily. For that reason, some committed themselves to the peace movement.
It was not uncommon for churches to be involved in social justice issues as well.

As for the South, most of the critical events of the civil rights actions took place in the deep South.

[misanthrope]

97. Yes, the critical civil rights events took place in the South

but they weren't led by the same demographic that comprised the majority of anti-war protests in the late 1960s.

[KT2000]

98. Yes, I listed the areas of concern

that were addressed by the boomers. My crossover was anti-war and civil rights. I know others had other crossovers - we were even friends. Lots of issues and lots of participation. There was momentum.

[dflprincess]

103. And a majority of the people I've seen at the recent demonstrations in my area are Boomers nt

[KT2000]

109. Yes - I noticed that too

A friend asked some younger people why they didn't go to the local demonstration and they said they never heard about it. I know they care about some of the issues but they are not engaged and it seems the algorithms are not informing them.

[BannonsLiver]

119. "Boomers were in the streets to stop a war, fight for civil rights, fight for women's rights, women's healthcare..."

And then they became adults:

[Mountain Mule]

64. I hate it when people make sweeping generalizations about an entire generation

And I have a one word reply:

Vietnam

My Dad was career military and when I was in high school, he served two tours of duty there. I was terrified each time. I would be glued to the nightly news every single evening trying to understand what was going on and wondering if he was alive or dead. Easy.

Quite a few young men in my high school class were drafted to go fight in that pointless horrible war. Easy.

Some of those boys never came home. Easy.

Others came home with PTSD. My Dad was one of them. He had so many bad dreams and his screams would wake me up in the middle of the night. Meanwhile the VA pretended that PTSD didn't exist. Oh, so very EASY.

When I hit college I joined the anti war protests and then Kent State happened. Four young college students who had no weapons were killed by the national guard. When this was reported, I couldn't stop crying. Tears came to me so EASY back.then.

You know, I feel so bad for Gen Z. We have left them a wrecked planet and now a wrecked democracy. They will not have an easy.time of it. No, not at all. So, yet again, I have joined another protest movement. This is not at all easy for me because my knees are wrecked and that sometimes makes it hard to walk. But I care deeply for my country and for ALL of us - no matter what age. It would be so easy to tell myself that I have done enough for one lifetime and just stay home but then I always remember the words of my sig line and back out this old war horse goes again.

Whatever generation you are, I wish you well.

[Hekate]

73. See you at the rallies because I am there too

We “lucky lazy Boomers” have watched every damn thing we and liberals before us ever achieved be undone by malicious one percenters.

Easy peasy

[Mountain Mule]

92. See you in the streets, my dear Hekate!

[Blue Dotty]

86. In total agreement

[Hekate]

69. That's some broad brush right there. When some complain about the age of DUers -- we are Boomers

My generation watched our high school and college friends get marched off to a war so deadly they called it a “meat grinder” — the best singer in my high school and a friend’s brother who’d just gotten a Master’s degree, both dead. Drafted and dead, like 50,000 others.

And we, those “lucky lazy” Boomers, took to the streets, got involved in politics, and stayed aware. The top 1% remains in power as it always has, and 99% of us are not in the top 1%.

But people like John Kerry returned and as a young man told the Senators: How do you tell the mother of the last one to die that her son died for a mistake? (Paraphrased)

So who do you think populates DU to this day? None of us are in the highest levels of power, but most of us started our activism and volunteerism when we were young.

Alas, how lazy we are. I guess I and my cohort should just give up.

[Maeve]

114. Arguably, the Silent Gen had it better, at least as adults

They were kids during WWII and came of age into a booming economy. My folks walked into plentiful jobs, affordable homes in nice suburbs, were able to travel and retire early. Dad never worried about the draft like my brother did; he was married before Korea got hot. The "America was great" past most of the MAGAts are longing for is what my Silent Gen parents had. They also had the early rock and roll (lots of the performers associated with the Boomer years were actually Silent Gen)
To be fair, it wasn't so great if you were a POC or poor, but the middle class boomed during that time for a large portion of the population.

[Cirsium]

125. You are doing the same thing Maher does

The vast majority of seniors - so-called "boomers" and can we ever put that idiotic word to pasture? - are dependent upon Social Security. Do you have any comprehension as to what that means?

It was "Boomers" who fought for Civil Rights, for reproductive rights, for the environment. "Boomers" cared for not only their parents, but for their children and now their grandchildren at unprecedented rates. They lived through a massive loss of well paying jobs, the loss of access to healthcare, the destruction of neighborhoods ad the environment. They weren't the ones in charge, the "greatest generation" was.

Yes, most of the people who have accumulated wealth are older. That has always been true. But just because most wealthy people are older that does not mean most older people are wealthy. As for older people trending conservative, that has always been true as well. Do you know why? Because wealthy white people trend Republican, at any age, and wealthy white people live longer than the rest of the population. All of my friends were left wingers and many of them are dead now.

Pitting one generation against another is at best a distraction, at worst reactionary and destructive. You are wrong about "Boomers" the same way Maher is wrong about "Gen Z"

Get yourself to a rally with AOC and Sanders and look around. It is not about age, and it certainly is not about these absurd "generation" labels manufactured by the mass media.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. Maher is not as bright as he thinks he is and was played by trump

Link to tweet

An Apprentice producer weighs in on Maher getting used by Trump: “I assure you Trump is laughing and telling everyone around him how easy it was to manipulate Bill… Trump’s superpower is telling whoever he’s with what they want to hear…”

[Martin Eden]

85. Bottom line: Maher was a USEFUL IDIOT in hs report of the "dinner" with Trump.

He normalized the person on the basis of Donald not shouting insults or threats at Maher when Bill the guest expressed disagreement.

Why did Trump (perhaps at the suggestion of Kid Rock) invite Bill Maher to dinner after the comedian had belittled and insulted Donald in so many ways over the last ten years?

Because Don the Con saw an opportunity to use Maher as a political tool -- and Bill Maher (who's a bit of a narcissist himself) is too dumb to realize he was played for a USEFUL IDIOT.

I started getting fed up with Maher when he platformed vile propgandists like Ann Coulter and Steve Bannon, who are both smarter than him. Maher would ask Bannon what he thought was a "gotcha" question, then was totally unprepared to counter Bannon's gish gallop of bullshit. Maher simply replied OK then moved onto the next question, only to demonstrate once again he is incapable of dealing with the likes of Steve Bannon.

Elon Musk was his first guest not long after Musk turned Twitter in the X sewer of vile racism and unchecked disinformation. Maher was a total fanboy, asking him nothing but softball questions.

The VERY last straw for me was his "report" on his dinner with Donald, which he agreed to under the pretext that we have to be able to talk and have a dialogue among people who disagree (as if Trump can be persusded to change what he's doing).

At the end of his "report" Maher casually dismissed Cory Booker's marathon Senate speech, then pretty much insulted everyone who would criticize the dinner with Trump.

Bill Maher's humor has really worn thin, and any political "insight" he may have once had is far outweighed by the blinders he has put on himself and his very limited intellect.

[FirstLight]

6. I've ALWAYS thought he was a smarmy asshole with NO real values...

Seriously, I never understood what anyone liked in him. He's a schmuck.

[meadowlander]

63. He used to date Ann Coulter. What else do you need to know about him?

[Omnipresent]

8. I remember him making the point that out of state college students voting for the first time in California..

Weren’t making a real difference.
He claimed they should have been voting an absentee ballot to their home state.
I guess he was upset, that they hadn’t thought through on their votes making an impact, where it was needed the most to help democrats.

[Silent Type]

9. If in fact Maher told/asked trump, "Why do you have to scare people," it was worth him going.

[SocialDemocrat61]

54. What was Trump's answer?

[Silent Type]

70. According to Maher, he just kind of grunted "in agreement," but it could have just been "Why?"

[senseandsensibility]

79. I'm sorry but I don't see the point of the question or

especially of trump's grunt. We are way past the point of worrying about or trying to influence his mannerisms as a way of improving the situation. If he was suddenly influenced by Maher to be "nicer" (hint: he won't be) who cares? It's actions that count.

[SocialDemocrat61]

83. Lame answer

[Prairie Gates]

10. Fuck Bill Maher

[AnotherMother4Peace]

11. "The women at the Playboy mansion loved my visits" (paraphrased), Maher bragged at the same time he dissed

Hillary Clinton for wearing pantsuits and "looking matronly", while she was running for President.

That's when I realized he was a misogynistic, narcissistic piece of shit. He truly thinks he's God's gift to women.

[Johnny2X2X]

12. He's trump's Useful Idiot now

And his generation, the Boomers, destroyed the country and each generation since has had it harder.

It's pure fantasy to think Millenials and Gen Z have it easy and aren't tough. They have it harder than my Generation, Gen X, by a long shot.

Gen Z will never know affordable housing and health care. Tehy'll never live in a world where every single mistake they've ever made is broadcast and permanetly recorded on social media. They don't know a world where if you didn't want to or couldn't attend college, there were good paying factory jobs with great health benefits and pensions.

I see it among my peers and friends as Gen Xers. These people act like they were all super serious scholars who walked the straight and narrow through high school and college. They must have went to different schools than I did, because in the 90s when I was in college, people kind of skated through for the most part.

Young people today cannot afford to skate through anything. They drink less, they do less drugs, they have less sex, and they are generally more anxious and less happy. They know that they must work hard to graduate or they don't have any chance at all to maintain the standard of living their parents did.

Bill Maher is an out of touch fool.

[zanana1]

13. Maher is a blowhard.

He's always acted superior, as if we should all be in awe about every word that comes out of his mouth.

[UpInArms]

17. Bill Maher is just another pig at the trough

I have abhorred him for at least 20 years now … his affection for Ann coulter made me nauseous

[yardwork]

20. What a little man. Pathetic.

[Efilroft Sul]

21. Everybody should read Larry David's takedown of Maher that doesn't even mention Maher's name.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/opinion/larry-david-hitler-dinner.html?referringSource=articleShare&unlocked_article_code=1.BU8.NYpG.Wo5IeagEGxJu

[AStern]

27. Thanks!

[Carlitos Brigante]

60. .

[Marie Marie]

65. He nailed it - and the unmentioned Blowhard Maher.

[spooky3]

66. Great piece! Nt

[dem4decades]

76. Having Larry David take a complete shit on Maher has got to hurt.

Maher is now a joke, everyone in Hollywood knows it, including him, and every guest should remind him.

[maxsolomon]

25. Maher should invite Tony Pentimalli to be on the panel

Or in the interview portion. Love to hear that debate.

[dchill]

28. Maher took a look in the mirror and decided he's not...

...a big enough shit.

[Martin68]

29. I used to like Maher. Now he just sounds like a bitter, Republican has-been.

[Dr. T]

49. I'm in that same boat, Martin68. Mahar used to be a moderate

lefty but his tone took a right turn ten to fifteen years ago. He now impresses me as the senile old man sitting on his front porch with a broom, just waiting for some kid to step on his lawn.

[Martin68]

120. Rush Limbaugh was very similar. He started his talk radio career making fun of foibles on both sides. then he was

invited to the Bush White House and he turned far right. So glad to see him kick the bucket.

[OMGWTF]

31. He can join Dennis Miller and other unfunny asshole "comedians" who grovel at the feet of Shitler.

His time is over.

[nilram]

34. Wish I could rec this more than once

[Mr. Evil]

35. Bill Maher is the

old man yelling 'get off my lawn' of old men yelling at clouds.

[Orrex]

36. Maher has been obviously and exactly like this for decades

It baffles me that anyone can claim to be surprised.

[LovelyStuff]

37. When historians look back on this era . . .

Maher won't be remembered at all.

[AStern]

46. He'll be as remembered as much as Dennis Miller. Who no one ever talks about any more.

lol.

[SunSeeker]

38. K & R

[Avalon Sparks]

40. Such an on point essay

Thanks for posting, I want to scream this from the rooftops.

[NoMoreRepugs]

42. Maher needs a serious ass kicking.

[marble falls]

45. Fuck this hatchet job on all boomers. I am sick and tired of the efforts to spark generational ...

... warfare whether by Maher or Tony Pentimalli.

[AStern]

50. Hey, I hear you--and just want to say, I don't think this is about hating on boomers.

I think Pentimalli’s choice of words was unfortunate—especially since his own parents are likely boomers. But that doesn’t excuse Maher’s use of broad, dismissive strokes to mock people already struggling under a broken system. We can call that out without falling into the trap of generational blame.

Truly appreciate your voice.

[marble falls]

127. I remember the same "lazy, entitled, communist etc" BS from my elders, too ...

... took me eight years to almost get my BA, couldn't afford a house until my 40s and it was no palace. All the stuff I got kicked on me, I made sure did not happen to my kids. And I won't do it to yours, either.

[kellytore]

47. I actually paid to see him at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta

a few years back. I wish I could get a refund. He is a pretentious POS,

[ShazzieB]

48. I completely lost interest in Maher a long time ago.

He used to be funny, like this piece says. i enjoyed Religulous in 2008 (even though I'm not an atheist), but that was literally the last time I watched anything he did. Since then, I mainly hear about him from posts on DU and a few other places, and it's never been positive.

This attack on the zoomers on sounds like a new low even for him, though. Yeesh. They definitely don't deserve that.

[Demobrat]

52. I haven't watched him since I saw him do an ugly

anti-woman rant 20 years ago. Same deal , different punchline. Guess I haven’t missed much.

[milestogo]

81. If someone is a misogynist, I'm done.

I was done with him a long time ago.

[Demobrat]

89. Yep me too. I was even offered a ticket to see him in Vegas.

Declined.

[milestogo]

93. If I went to see him I would probably get up and storm out at some point.

So better not to go at all.

[AkFemDem]

55. Why does everyone care so much about Maher anyway?

He hasn't changed, his mask hasn't slipped...lol, whaaaat? Clearly the author hasn't been paying attention for the last, oh I don't know, 22 years?

He's a libertarian and a contrarian, and he makes his $ by saying sarcastic, smarmy things that make people mad. Stop giving him any importance or power and ignore him.

[maxsolomon]

87. He's the New York Times of talk show hosts

He's supposed to be so much more Progressive than he is.

[AkFemDem]

102. lol he has never claimed to be progressive...

He literally claimed his fame from a show called "Politically Incorrect" that he began during Clinton's presidency- in other words, back when being a democrat was politically correct. He'd heckle and shame the right, but also the left. The first time he ever infuriated me was when he went on a cocky, gross tirade against women breastfeeding in public. My almost 30 year old was a breastfeeding infant at the time. I was so young and naive I wrote him an angry letter lol, and thought I'd shame him. That was also the LAST time he infuriated me though, because I came to realize quickly thats just what he does on purpose- he tries to piss half his audience off with any given tirade and make the other half laugh and point fingers. Whatever half thats gonna be, is anyones guess. He for sure has never claimed to be a progressive or friend of democrats though.

[maxsolomon]

126. He claims to be an "old fashioned liberal".

What I mean is, that like the NYT, DU really wants Maher to be more liberal, more progressive than he is. It's like our collective feelings are hurt by serial disappointments.

[Paladin]

112. Because his years of repeated liberal-bashing have finally caught up with him.

For clear evidence of this, look no further than the repeated defenses of his actions, offered up right here at DU. "He's a libertarian and a contrarian" doesn't begin to cover his savage trashing of Democrats, over the years.

[lonely bird]

115. Libertarian?

Read: spoiled 4 year old.

[AStern]

62. Fair point--

It is remarkable how much space Maher takes up in the discourse. But I think that says less about obsession and more about frustration with someone who once challenged power and now seems more interested in cozying up to it. Criticism isn’t obsession—it’s just what happens when someone still claims relevance but stops earning it.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

58. We regularly watched Real Time and Overtime 2017-21

But once Biden won, Maher's insufferable ego turned me off completely. Haven't watched since 2021.

[misanthrope]

96. Your turn away from him also coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic

Something about that experience broke Maher's brain.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

99. His Libertarian traits kicked him in the head.

[Xavier Breath]

122. It did indeed.

He was appointment tv for me every Friday night that a new episode aired. I didn't agree with him on every point, certainly, but he seemed to get the big picture. His response to covid was, at first, mostly whining about not being in the studio. But that soon led to vax deniers and quacks taking up his guest chairs.

[Karasu]

59. Fascism has been masquerading as centrism in this country for a long, LONG time.

Well before Maher. He's just one of the best living examples of it.

[maxsolomon]

94. You let me know where the cut-off for Fascism is, then.

Is "Centrist" Chuck Schumer a Fascist? What about Fetterman? Fascist? Newsom?

Keep moving that "Fascist" line leftwards and
1. you'll rob the word of meaning
2. you won't have enough people left for a party that can win anything. we're just about there now.

[Karasu]

106. I was referring to a line from the article about Maher, but personally, I don't think any of the individuals you named

Last edited Tue Apr 22, 2025, 05:38 PM - Edit history (5)

are fascists. I have no interest in moving the definition leftward, so I'm not sure why you were making that assumption. In fact, my own perspective is actually the inverse of that--that as the GOP has moved further to the right, centrism has done the same, to the point that a lot of what would have been considered right-wing extremism in the '90s is sadly seen as respectable/mainstream/"moderate" discourse now. The entire Overton window in the US is insanely far to the right on a global scale anyhow. That said, I don't see it as much of a problem on the left, since I really don't believe most Dems are actively enabling this shitshow (for instance, while I disagreed with Schumer's vote in favor of Adam Schiff's argument on that particular matter, I nonetheless understood his logic).

I suppose the real issue for me is that I've simply never seen Maher as some strong voice of the left, or even a "centrist"--or much of anything, really. I think he's an opportunist above all else, and is simply daring to show as much now by pushing all these modern conservative (i.e. fascist) talking points now that he feels like he no longer has anything to lose.

[LittleGirl]

61. I've been "hate" watching Maher

For at least 2 years and last Friday I was shouting at him during his monologue.
He didn’t know the whole story of Governor Whitmer hiding her face in the Oval Office! F* Maher for that. Don’t criticize until you know the whole story. I won’t be hate watching anymore.

[Clouds Passing]

67. That guy is a joke, a sick joke.

[drmeow]

68. His whole

"Politically Incorrect" thing - he came across as a classic pseudo-libertarian "liberty for me but not for thee" type to me. I'd watch segments of his HBO show posted here but I don't anymore. I see him as a typical "privileged white male who thinks his often miss- or insufficiently informed opinion is the only truth." Like many of his style of comedian, he is often a bully in the guise of humor. He's always punched down - but in his hubris and egomania he's getting worse about it.

[Marie Marie]

71. Keith Olberman told the best story of meeting him many years ago and

what a little pissant he was and still is. He also said that, after appearing on one of his shows, it seemed like he did the show more for the after party where he could get high and hang out with models. Without his current fame and money, Maher would just be another insufferable incel who couldn't get laid by anyone - much less the models and playmates he so desperately pursues.

[-misanthroptimist]

74. Mahar is, and always has been a fraud.

He pretends to an iconoclasm that he doesn't -and can't- possess.

[Hassler]

75. What a poser. Maher's whole routine

Was to play the cynic busting other people's balloons. Then, one dinner with shitler, and sounds like a fawning Tiger Beat reader

[Faux pas]

77. He's ALWAYS

been an ASSHOLE and a misogynist. I've loathed him since politically incorrect where he showed off both qualities.

[Johonny]

80. Bill Maher angry Larry King no longer on the air

So he can appear intellectual.

Dude that works once a week and has writers to write all his jokes, complains new generation is soft. Because when I think hard work and cruelijg schedule, I think Bill Maher. LOL.

[betsuni]

82. Tony is triggered. Boomers! Why did they fail to fix everything! Buying houses for pennies and hollowing out

the middle class and shipping jobs overseas -- why didn't people who were young then stop all the bad things? They are so old! But it's not about age, it's about urgency. What are "comedians," some sort of influencer? EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS ARE NOT FUNNY. Punching up, punching down, where am I?

"laid down yet another plank in a rickety bridge between liberalism and authoritarianism" -- ah, liberals are the real authoritarians.

I, Tony, know nothing and am not shy about telling you!

[AStern]

88. Hi.

I get that the tone of the piece might not have landed for you, but I think you're missing the core argument. Tony wasn’t blaming individuals for systemic collapse or saying boomers alone are at fault—he was criticizing how Maher wields his platform to ridicule people who are already struggling under systems that predate them. It’s less about generational warfare and more about punching down on people trying to survive what's been handed to them.

Also, the critique of Maher calling Gen Z weak wasn’t about banning comedy—it was about recognizing when a joke reinforces harmful narratives instead of challenging power. The “rickety bridge” line wasn’t saying liberals are authoritarians, but pointing out how cynicism dressed up as centrism can blur those lines when it mocks the powerless and flatters the powerful.

You don’t have to like the piece, but it’s worth engaging with what it’s actually saying.

[Paladin]

84. Be sure to see Larry David's "My Dinner With Adolf" piece, posted in General Discussion.

Absolutely vicious takedown of Maher's worshipful trip to the trump White House; published in today's NY Times. I hope Maher never ever recovers from it.

[dalton99a]

90. Kick

[Abolishinist]

100. Or perhaps he's relying on published reports about Gen Z.

Last year, the Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster complained that Gen Zers don’t show up to work until 10:30 a.m., and an MIT interviewer blasted the generation for always “being late.” And a viral debate popped up when one CEO vented his gripe with a Gen Z job candidate who refused to do a 90-minute task because it “looked like a lot of work.”

Bosses have even started rapidly firing Gen Z employees just months after hiring them, describing many recent grads as “unprepared and unprofessional.”

But it’s not just Gen Xers and baby boomers who have taken stock of how different (or rather, difficult) the youngest generation of workers are. Now even Gen Z hiring managers are complaining about their own generation’s work style.

Resume Genius asked 625 U.S. hiring managers which generation is the most challenging to work with, and 45% pointed to Gen Z, the generation born between 1997 and 2012. What’s more, 50% of Gen Z hiring managers admitted that their own generation is the most difficult to manage.

https://fortune.com/article/how-to-work-with-gen-z-vs-millennials-work-ethic-employees-workplace-recent-grads/

[Hassin Bin Sober]

104. Diagnosis: toxic boomerism

[BigmanPigman]

107. And his biggest problem is that he IS NOT FUNNY ANYMORE!

[Hassler]

108. Maher looks like Pete Kegbreath without the tats

And with matching sideburns.

[Conjuay]

111. Gen Z can't do "hard jobs."

From a guy who has never had a job.

[Hotler]

113. when is he having dinner with that Nazi Stephn Miller? nt

[OnionPatch]

121. I was one of his biggest fans

From way back in the “Amazon Women of the Avocado Jungle” days. I’m so sad that he’s become the epitome of a grumpy old man, pushing the tired old fantasy that “these younger generations” suck compared to theirs. He stopped being funny years ago when he turned into my grandpa.

[AStern]

124. My Grandpa was pretty conservative himself...

but compared to today's conservatives... he's farther to the left than AOC

[Basso8vb]

128. I never cared for that asshole.

Ever.

[Laffy Kat]

130. Excellent. nt

[sdfernando]

132. I haven't watched him in years....no plans to start again.

got extremely tired of his smug holier-than-thou attitude. His schtick is old and tired.