Maher to Michael Avenatti: Do You Worry Stormy Case Is ‘Taking a Lot of Energy Away from Real Issues’?

On Friday night, Bill Maher sat down with Stormy Daniels‘ attorney Michael Avenatti.

While he has expressed support for the lawsuit, the Real Time host expressed his reservations about all the focus the alleged 2006 affair Avenatti’s client had with President Trump has been getting.

“I just worry. I see all this giddiness on MSNBC about all of this and I just worry that it’s going to get to a certain point and then Donald Trump is just gonna go, ‘I either pardon everybody or I’m not showing up’ and then it comes to nothing,” Maher told Avenatti. “But my other worry is that- um, it’s taking a lot of energy away from real issues. Do you ever worry about that? I know you have your own case to worry about, but-”

“I think the coverup and lying to the American people is always a real issue,” Avenatti responded.

“Yes, but it’s actually not what polls say they care about,” Maher shot back. “They care about healthcare, which doesn’t get a lot of coverage. They care about the tax cut, which doesn’t get a lot of coverage because they’re all chasing stories like this. I’m not saying you should stop doing what you’re doing.”

“Well that’s good, because we’re not,” Avenatti laughed.

Maher went on to praise Avenatti for showing his porn star client as “a real person” instead of being “sh*t on” along with strippers, Playboy playmates, and cheerleaders. And when asked if he himself would ever jump into politics, Avenatti didn’t rule it out.

Watch the clip above, via HBO.

[image via screengrab]