Bill Maher Reveals To Jake Tapper His Show ‘Weeded Out’ Audience Members Who Disagree With Him
Comic and pundit Bill Maher revealed to CNN’s Jake Tapper that his producers “weeded out” audience members who might audibly disagree with him during his show for the past five years or so.
Tapper interviewed the host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, for a special live event Tuesday night, expanding on CNN’s experiment of putting Maher’s weekly “Overtime” segment that follows the show on at 11:30.
At one point, Maher proudly explained to Tapper why it is viewers no longer hear groans from the audience:
TAPPER: What is it like to be a comedian in this era? Is it more difficult?
Do audiences boo you at times that you’re not ready for them to boo you or you’re surprised?
MAHER: It’s always possible. I mean, it’s interesting. My studio audience at “Real Time” (LAUGH) always booed me – not – for most of the show, but they were definitely more woke than I was – and definitely more sensitive.
I would ask all – all the time over there, I said, “Why? These are the people who – they claim that they – flew all the way across the country. They waited for months to get tickets to this show. They’re my fans. And then they come here and they’re saying, ‘Oh.'”
There’s something about when you get in public you have to put on this act that you are somehow more of a moral person than you really are. Not that I’m doing anything immoral, but that you have to react in a certain way to things that are politically incorrect. You’d think I would come pre-advertised. I mean, there’s a sign right–
TAPPER: Right, “Politically Incorrect.”
MAHER: It’s a sign there (LAUGH) that – and the – and the show was called “Real Time.”
And then, about five years ago we did – I don’t know what they did with the audience but they – they got rid of the groaners, and it made my life so much better.
And there are people who actually say to me now, “Oh, I miss the days when you used to fight with the audience.”
TAPPER: (LAUGH)
MAHER: Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.
TAPPER: Yes.
MAHER: You know? But I was never one of those comics, who could just pretend, “Oh, (LAUGH) I’m sorry. I must’ve made a mistake there.”
I’d be like, “No, I didn’t make a mistake. There’s nothing wrong with that joke. Stop groaning. Get the stick out of your ass.” I must’ve said that 20 times on my show.
TAPPER: Yes.
MAHER: And then when the pandemic came around, first we didn’t have any audience, then we shot here.
And when we came back we were allowed to have, like, half the audience because of social distancing. And again, they just weeded out the people who were groaning. And I would say in the last three, four years I’ve never had that problem again, and it is such a pleasure.
My audience who comes to my show now understands me. They think like me. They – they have open minds. They’re – they’re not woke. They’re generally liberal, but they can be conservative too. And we have a great time, and there’s no groaning. And I love it.
And on the road it was always that way. People who pay, you know, a good penny for a hard ticket price to come see a stand-up show, they generally want you to be exactly who you are. So it’s – it was always pretty hard to get – I’d have to be (LAUGH) pretty far out there, I could do it, to get people to groan on the road.
But, look, any comic in this era, anybody in this era can absolutely fall off the ledge at any moment. It’s – it just makes me laugh when people say to me, “You know, you’re uncancelable.” Are you kidding? I could – I would – in two seconds, I could get canceled. Anybody could.
Watch above via CNN.
