Who! Why does Bill Maher hate Stephen Colbert?

[Hamlette]

Maher was pissed. Is there a back story I don't know? I like them both and was sort of shocked by Bill's attitude.

Anyone else feel the chill?

[Electric Monk]

1. I don't know if "hate" is the right word, but Maher was raised Catholic, and Colbert still is

"Practicing, not perfect", as he put it, iirc.

[Quixote1818]

2. Hard to tell

At first it just felt like they were both having fun in a satirical way but as it went on Maher looked irritated. I think Maher wanted to be the funny one getting all the attention and Colbert wasn't always letting him have the spotlight. This seemed to irritate Maher because quite frankly Colbert was a bit funnier.

[davekriss]

4. It was strange

Why would Bill Maher say, "you probably voted for him" (referring to Nixon)? Was that supposed to be funny? Does he even know who Colbert is? I would not put libertarian Maher to the left of Colbert.

Clearly there was some tension there, and I think you are spot on about the comedic one-upmanship. Maher didn't like the occasional interruption (it did break his timing). Colbert was just being Colbert. And, yes, Colbert was (and is) a bit funnier.

[Frustratedlady]

62. I agree on the interruptions. Bill was irritated at them because he lost his train of thought,

and wasn't able to pick up where he left off.

I know that feeling, as my daughter often interrupts and then I forget what I was talking about. It frustrates me to no end.

I also think it is difficult for Maher to speak for very long without cussing.

[snooper2]

33. Actually it was great and the both were funny

Bill called Colbert out getting his wisdom from bronze age men who didn't know what a germ or atom were


The end was pretty dam funny too, Ben Carsons hands LOL

[Go Vols]

40. +1

[madokie]

3. Colbert is so far over the head of Maher

is what pisses bill off. Maher bullshit gets old quickly while Colbert is refreshing.

[DiehardLiberal]

5. Definitely. That was a bit surprising to me.

Awkward at very least. I like them both. But Colbert much more.

[marlakay]

6. It seemed off to me

I thought Bill got mad when Stephen was preaching at him to get saved. He said it jokingly but neither took it as a joke.

[Hamlette]

7. yeah, I sort of thought that's when it started too

But Bill has been around religious people all the time so he has to be practiced in not letting it get under his skin.

Bill brought it up "I wouldn't be welcome at your house" so he has to be able to take it. He got a great riff in there about religion which is a tad insulting (I"m a third generation atheist so it isn't insulting to me) but it seemed personal to Colbert for some reason.

It was more uncomfortable than I thought it needed to be and I saw Bill as the one doing the pouting.

Bet we hear more about it, from Bill, not Stephen. But maybe both.

Can't we all just get along? (I mean us mostly like minded liberals).

[applegrove]

8. There was a stuggle there between two talented people and they gave as good as they

got. I didn't think either one seemed particularly pissed off in a personal way.

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. Maher is a bigoted ignoramus. I fail to understand why he gets so much love around here.

He's an Islamophobe and an anti-science moron.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. We Disagree On Both Counts

Sorry. Just how it is. My interpretation differs greatly.

[Spider Jerusalem]

23. That's at least consistent with everything else I know about you (n/t)

[ProfessorGAC]

47. Unsurprisingly Rude

[lame54]

58. let me introduce myself...

I'm with the Prof on this one

[Renew Deal]

49. You disagree that he's an islamaphobe?

Just pay attention to his statements. One of them was in that interview. IIRC he's also anti-vax. I like many things about Maher, but not that.

[malaise]

22. +1,000 n/t

[Hamlette]

30. how is Bill anti-science?

I've not seen/heard that. What have I missed?

[Spider Jerusalem]

34. He's an anti-vaccine crank who doesn't believe in the germ theory of disease.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Bill_Maher

[Orrex]

42. You're only saying that because he hates Muslims and vaccines.

I agree--the hero status that he enjoys on DU is a true mystery.

[randys1]

51. He has problems with Islam for sure, but anti science?

[Spider Jerusalem]

52. yep!

Unless you can think of another way to interpret "germs don't cause disease, vaccines are bunk, and Pasteur recanted on the germ theory of disease on his deathbed", that is.

[randys1]

54. I guess I didnt hear that part. That is pretty stupid alright

I was listening to this interview but i am not at home and cant give full attention to it, was it in this interview? That quote?

[Spider Jerusalem]

66. No, it was not in the interview, it's something Maher has been on about for many years.

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2007/10/16/is-bill-maher-really-that-ignorant-part/

[Kelvin Mace]

55. Anti-Vaxxer

so I have read.

http://www.salon.com/2015/04/25/bill_mahers_bizarre_anti_vaccine_rant_stop_calling_these_people_kooks_and_liars/

[Logical]

56. Lol, ok. Did he hurt your feelings? Nt

[deutsey]

10. I haven't been able to watch this yet

but my first thought is that maybe it's because Colbert's kind of faith isn't your run-of-the-mill Evangelical/fundie-style faith that Maher can (and does) easily ridicule.

Bookmarking to watch later.

[Smarmie Doofus]

11. I like Maher a lot. Colbert ... I don't really get. That said:

The exchange seemed to go ok 'til Colbert's religious pitch. (Tongue in cheek) "Come on back, (i.e. to the church) Bill."


Bill seemed a bit snotty after that. Ex-catholics often harbor a tiny scintilla of guilt about growing -up out of and beyond the constraints of the church.

It's irrational but it's there. People who stayed w. the church often look around for that soft spot.

[Sanity Claws]

12. 7 minutes in

At that point maher was not happy at all. Colbert was not happy about the church remark but did not show it until he said it was like an invitation to dinner. I don't think we'll see maher on Colbert's show again.

[TexasBushwhacker]

13. I like them both

but I think Colbert pushed the religion bit too far. I know he was joking, but he just wouldn't let it go. I also think there's a fine line between making funny quips in response to your guest and upstaging the guest. Colbert is the host, not the whole show.

[Go Vols]

41. Yep

Colbert ran the religion thing in the ground and Bill put him in his place.

[Sugarcoated]

59. Maher is surprising thin skinned for a comedian

I've seen him get cranky with other comedians who've joked with him.

[The2ndWheel]

14. I think you're looking into it a bit too much

But there is a reason the saying is what it is. Politics and religion aren't breezy conversations, even between two comedians with TV shows.

[Jesus Malverde]

16. I think the age remark regarding Vietnam bruised mahers ego...nt

[Bluenorthwest]

17. Colbert, I can only take so much. I love him, but he does not really return that favor, he often

promotes and appears with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, infamous for his cover up of child abuse, his hiding of funds from the victims and of course, for his vicious and unrelenting homophobia. Dolan is an activist against the rights of a minority group, but Steve thinks that's ok for him. Not everyone agrees with Steve, just as many of us do not agree with his good pal Dolan. Some of us stand with the child victims.....

In Milwaukee Post, Cardinal Authorized Paying Abusers
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York authorized payments of as much as $20,000 to sexually abusive priests as an incentive for them to agree to dismissal from the priesthood when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee.

Questioned at the time about the news that one particularly notorious pedophile cleric had been given a “payoff” to leave the priesthood, Cardinal Dolan, then the archbishop, responded that such an inference was “false, preposterous and unjust.”

But a document unearthed during bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and made public by victims’ advocates reveals that the archdiocese did make such payments to multiple accused priests to encourage them to seek dismissal, thereby allowing the church to remove them from the payroll.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/us/cardinal-authorized-payments-to-abusers.html

[Fumesucker]

18. Maher got the best quip: Ben Carson, a brain surgeon and a head case

Yeah, there was a little friction but neither lost their cool.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

19. Simple (Last night) Colbert was an Asshole to him. He is so ADD and

so full of himself - he won't let anyone else speak. Maher is a pretty good listener and interviewer - Colbert is a one man show.

All that said, still think Colbert is brilliant. But, Maher is much more intellectual. He expected to be able to talk.

[elias49]

20. At one point, Maher called Colbert "Steve".

Colbert was taken aback. The whole thing was uncomfortable.

[joeybee12]

21. because colbert is smarter and funnier...nt

[CBGLuthier]

24. plus better looking and a lot more successful.

Not to mention a better human being and not such a hater.

[joeybee12]

25. We could go on all day...

A world of difference between the two.

[Act_of_Reparation]

26. Is it that hard to figure out?

Atheists encounter the "come back to mother church, pascal's wager, hellfire and brimstone" spiel so often that's not funny even when it is presented in jest. I generally appreciate Colbert, but if I were sitting in Bill Mahr's seat, I would have told him to go heartily fuck himself.

[xloadiex]

27. To me it seemed

like Bill got pissed because every time he tried to make a point Colbert interrupted him trying to be funny.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

28. Because he's a self-righteous smarmy douchebag of the first degree?

I never understood the appeal of Bill Maher.

Even when I agree with him, it's in spite of him, not because of him.

[restorefreedom]

29. maher is a bigoted egomaniac

who has about 100000th the intelligence and deft of colbert.

he hates being upstaged, he hates being wrong, and he always has to be the smartest guy in the room.

and when that doesn't happen, he strikes out like a petulant two yr old

[Atman]

31. Oh come on...that was great!

To big egos clash, so what? Maher was very funny, "Steve" was in his element, as if sparring in a comedy debate. I thought it was genuinely funny, and I didn't see Maher as being cold or angry or anything. He usually gets to have his way and Colbert trumped him, so to speak. But it was good tv!

[Fix The Stupid]

32. Geez, one believes in transubstantiation...

And the other thinks it's all BS.

And Maher is the 'anti-intellectual, anti-science bigot?

That's funny right there...

[Historic NY]

35. Maher is so full of himself....

he's falling back to old patterns & habits. It will catch up with him again.

[MuseRider]

36. I did not see that at all.

They were playing off each other. I do not watch Maher for quite a few reasons although I do think he can be very clever and amusing but I do watch Colbert when I can. I just thought that here are two very funny guys who know where the other makes his shots and they hit at each other in very funny ways. I enjoyed it.

[Rex]

37. Two huge egos had a small clashing?

BFD.

[libdem4life]

38. Colbert - 1 Maher - 0 Both funny guys, two very different kinds of humor.

[MellowDem]

39. I don't see the "hate"...

But they're very different personalities. Maher is brash and upfront whereas Colbert is more "go along to get along" (now that he no longer is a satirical firebrand). It's no wonder Maher left the Catholic Church and Colbert remained as a "bad" Catholic.

As a result, people see Maher as either rude or courageous for speaking the truth and people see Colbert as either polite or bland.

[mountain grammy]

43. I thought it was an interesting interview.. definitely unusual but funny..

I like them both, not everything, but can't help myself.

[UTUSN]

44. All I can think is the atheism vs religion. But I've never seen COLBERT as prostletyzing.

As for the several posts here saying COLBERT was "preaching" for MAHER to "come back" to the church, I don't see any room for COLBERT to have meant it seriously or that he would be deluded enough to think MAHER would ever be an achievable target.

It was great entertainment, two people I enjoy, keen wits although I give COLBERT the edge. Maybe MAHER's edge is a bit dulled by pot. I think COLBERT was a teeny bit hurt at first but recovered and maintained his good nature. The jabs about COLBERT "used to be a (Repuke)" and voted-for-NIXON were really ugly (*was* COLBERT a Repuke?!1).

[Corey_Baker08]

45. It Was Weird, I Couldn't Figure Out If He Was Being Sarcastic Or Not?

[Paladin]

46. Maher is devolving into an obnoxious, Islam-bashing, right-winger.

He's attracting more and more of a wingnut following, on-line. More and more, his shows feature "Here's what pisses me off about liberals" segments. At the rate he's going, he may be addressing the Republican convention next year, doing his best Joe Lieberman imitation.

[Renew Deal]

48. That was very funny

And there was certainly a disconnect, but it was funny.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

50. I think Bill thought he was getting power talked.

He wanted to "get his shit in" and Colbert wasn't jiving with him.

[randys1]

53. Randi Rhodes interviewed Bill once on her Air America Show, and she spent most

of the interview complaining that he was late.

I love Randi but she could do that.

Then much later she was talking about him not being willing to come on her show, but she couldnt figure out why, even after SHE told the story about the first time.

Bill is an asshole but he also has started conversations both with PI and the new show that we might not have had otherwise.

[Buzz Clik]

57. I don't think Maher actually hates Colbert ... at least he didn't.

Maher is just a gigantic asshole.

[Hekate]

60. Maher was tetchy from the get-go. The dig about Colbert "voting for Nixon" was aimed at....

....Colbert's old persona, and not anything he is known to be IRL. Maher was snarly when he said it, not funny at all. And so it went -- I thought Maher was "off."

[7wo7rees]

61. Who could be the bigger asshole maybe? n/t

[Admiral Loinpresser]

63. Because Maher is an exposed pseudo-intellectual and

an Islamophobic POS.

[WDIM]

64. Is it possible Maher doesnt know the Colbert report

was satire and he believed the right winger persona Colbert portrayed?

didnt you use you be a republican
you voted for nixon
we dont have much in common
etc.

[Hekate]

65. Yeah, I picked up on that and thought it was weird. nt