S20.E24: B.J. Novak; Catherine Rampell; Noah Rothman

[tessaray]

Air date: August 19, 2022

Bill’s guests are B.J. Novak, Catherine Rampell, and Noah Rothman.

[sugarbaker design]

Bill reached a new all-time low this episode.  After a typical Bill tirade against the radical left, fueled by the loathsome Noah Rothman, Catherine Rampell rightly pointed out the 5 SC justices of the radical right and their recent rulings on abortion.  Bill's response?  "But, again, doesn't affect my life."

Bill's narcissism is stunning.

Edited August 20, 2022 by sugarbaker design

[Avaleigh]

30 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Bill reached a new all-time low this episode.  After a typical Bill tirade against the radical left, fueled by the loathsome Noah Rothman, Catherine Rampell rightly pointed out the 5 SC justices of the radical right and their recent rulings on abortion.  Bill's response?  "But, again, doesn't affect my life."

Bill's narcissism is stunning.

Not only that, but did you hear Rampell talk about how people on the right are banning books in certain libraries and Bill's response was "I don't go to the library." Lol, so because Bill doesn't go to the library it's not an important issue, I guess? No kidding about him being mememe. Meanwhile a few weeks ago he seemed to care very much about the drag queen reading event at a library near San Francisco. When it's drag queen story hour he cares about libraries but when it comes to books being banned by the right, suddenly libraries aren't important.  

[sugarbaker design]

24 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

 No kidding about him being mememe.

According to Bill, an ABC show (that I've never heard of) that shut down production over a racial slur, and a Jamie Foxx movie (that I've also never heard of), is more important than the Supreme Court taking away rights.  Of course!

[aghst]

Yeah I looked up the film, it was made 6 years ago, haven't released it.

Downey plays a Mexican and Foxx has given recent interviews about how people need to laugh again or learn to laugh again.

Comics are now using the excuses about cancel culture and woke audiences when jokes don't land or in this case, sounds like a mediocre movie doesn't get released.

Foxx plays a guy who is trying to get to an NBA All-Star game and plays other roles such a racist white cop.  It sounds more like a TV sketch than a movie.

But it's not like Foxx or other members of the cast can't get jobs.  How would the woke mob have canceled this movie which hasn't been released?  Well I saw one comment that distributors didn't buy it, so they canceled it, not the cancel culture.

I guess that's a bigger tragedy for Maher, some comedian not getting to release his movie than underage rape victims being forced to carry on with their pregnancies.  Because more and more Republican candidates are saying these raped girls should not be allowed to have abortions.

Edited August 20, 2022 by aghst

[Avaleigh]

43 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

According to Bill, an ABC show (that I've never heard of) that shut down production over a racial slur, and a Jamie Foxx movie (that I've also never heard of), is more important than the Supreme Court taking away rights.  Of course!

Adding to this, Bill insisted that the movie that was never released was "brilliant" only he hasn't actually seen the movie. It's one thing if he'd argued that the movie might have been funny or clever or whatever but we'll never know because the audiences weren't allowed to decide for themselves. That's fair enough. But to insist that some sort of comedic brilliance on film has been denied because of the woke mob doesn't stand up to any sort of basic scrutiny. If the studio thought they'd make money off the movie, they'd have released it. It sounds like the movie probably just wasn't that good and certainly wouldn't be worth whatever flack the studio would get for releasing it.

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Bill reached a new all-time low this episode.  After a typical Bill tirade against the radical left, fueled by the loathsome Noah Rothman, Catherine Rampell rightly pointed out the 5 SC justices of the radical right and their recent rulings on abortion.  Bill's response?  "But, again, doesn't affect my life."

Bill's narcissism is stunning.

1 hour ago, Avaleigh said:

Not only that, but did you hear Rampell talk about how people on the right are banning books in certain libraries and Bill's response was "I don't go to the library." Lol, so because Bill doesn't go to the library it's not an important issue, I guess? No kidding about him being mememe. Meanwhile a few weeks ago he seemed to care very much about the drag queen reading event at a library near San Francisco. When it's drag queen story hour he cares about libraries but when it comes to books being banned by the right, suddenly libraries aren't important.  

I cringed so much watching last night's episode. I'm a woman of childbearing years, but I'm not (too) scared personally about the recent rulings. However, I am very concerned about the women and girls in my state. Just because an issue doesn't affect my own life in the same way it might affect others, doesn't mean it's not extremely important. 

I don't have Bill's money, but I can afford to shop at Barnes & Noble if I can't get what I want from the library. However, some people really need the library for reading material. It's not something to dismiss either. 

I get that being a comedian and show biz in general is trickier than it used to be, but Bill treats it like it's the most important issue in the whole entire world. Not even close. Didn't his show used to actually touch a lot on politics and all the stuff going on in the world? Wars, crimes, people dying, things more serious than people getting into trouble for words? What happened?

[DXD526]

With all that's going on right now, with democracy being under assault and all, I really couldn't care less about some Jamie Foxx movie. Bill ranted about it for about 10 minutes. Shows us exactly where his priorities are. 

The activist SCOTUS? Who cares? Bill likes the movies, that's all he cares about. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I tend to like Bill more than the average opinion here, but the opening conversation there was really condescending. I get his point; he wanted to talk about the particular topic of the left which is a fair topic and the subject of the book, and it's not even close to denying women's health rights. Don't just dismiss her out of hand though. You can say, 'let's talk about this first, and then we'll move to these issues.' And he's talking about the mall being the town square at the end. The library is kind of like that too for lots of people. It's not just taking out books. 

He undercuts his own, valid argument. It's patently ridiculous that they closed a kids camp because of the buddist swastika. That doesn't affect him either though, and after being so condescending, a viewer is going to tune out until they switch topics. 

Considering the topic, what they are missing is that people don't step back and look at context. Someone saying a racial slur is bad, but a racist person would say racists things. If you're depicting a character like that, then you have to have the discussion as to whether you're going to have them say it. Maybe you have a warning or something at the start of the show. Just quitting or walking out is just patting yourself on the back. Ironically, Rampell was the one that pointed that out, so she was in agreement on the topic. She was only trying to point out which is affecting more people and how hard. 

I'm certainly not defending his attitude to her, but he can be his own worst enemy sometimes. 

I will say the New Rules landed. I'll go to stores more than just ordering from amazon. I recycle all the boxes, but they send too much plastic. There is less now. There's a Lowe's down the street. I order clothes and shoes online, but I don't buy sizes and send them back. 

[The Solution]

Words fail me.

[Hedgehog2022]

4 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

I cringed so much watching last night's episode. I'm a woman of childbearing years, but I'm not (too) scared personally about the recent rulings. However, I am very concerned about the women and girls in my state. Just because an issue doesn't affect my own life in the same way it might affect others, doesn't mean it's not extremely important. 

I don't have Bill's money, but I can afford to shop at Barnes & Noble if I can't get what I want from the library. However, some people really need the library for reading material. It's not something to dismiss either. 

I get that being a comedian and show biz in general is trickier than it used to be, but Bill treats it like it's the most important issue in the whole entire world. Not even close. Didn't his show used to actually touch a lot on politics and all the stuff going on in the world? Wars, crimes, people dying, things more serious than people getting into trouble for words? What happened?

What happened is that Bill took a sharp turn to the right a few years ago and has increasingly been going more far right ever since. He belongs on Fox News and NewsMax...not on HBO. I don't watch this show anymore and haven't for three years...but I do like to come on here and read comments. Sounds like he's gotten so much worse. The constant whining fom him about "cancel culture" from the left but never any discussion about the cancel culture from the right wing Governors like De Santis, Abbott and Youngkin that are having a very real affect on how children are getting taught about history...never a peep from Maher about the the cancel culture war on LGBTQ people or on women's reproductive rights...just a snarky comment that those issues don't affect him so he doesn't give a rat's ass about it. He sounds like a MAGA Republican...more and more every day. Real Time with Bill Maher needs to be canceled.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Hedgehog2022

[benteen]

Much better episode than last week but Bill did himself no favors by undercutting a lot of his recent arguments. His criticism of the left for cancel culture is valid and the bit about them shutting down a show that portrayed a racist character as racist was ridiculous. But he seems to be so upset with the far left over this that he completely poo-poo's the censorship issues when it comes from the far right. He has been highly critical of the Supreme Court's Roe decision for weeks but now it "doesn't affect him" when it comes to grinding his particular axe? 

Edited August 21, 2022 by benteen

[candall]

Bill Maher brags repeatedly that he's a "blue" who looooves to visit "red" places to perform his standup.  "I love those people!  We get along great!"  And that's apparently where he gets his credentials for insisting that people don't really believe The Big Lie.  He's adamant that people are only pretending, because they have another agenda.

He could not possibly be more wrong.

He's so condescending when, for example, he refers to the trailers that the red state people live in, yet he has the audacity to speak on behalf of the Borg Collective.

Real Time is turning into a hate watch for me.

[Soapy Goddess]

8 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

What happened is that Bill took a sharp turn to the right a few years ago and has increasingly been going more far right ever since. He belongs on Fox News and NewsMax...not on HBO.

Since when is HBO only for the left? 

As people age, many (not all!) people tend to move towards the right.

[Hedgehog2022]

2 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

Since when is HBO only for the left? 

As people age, many (not all!) people tend to move towards the right.

That was not what I was talking about…I don’t view HBO as a right or left media giant. However, HBO has a history with Maher and has extended his bloated contract through 2024…my point was that the Bill Maher that we have watched on Real Time for quite some time is not the same person today. He has become a bitter, mean spirited man who lacks compassion and empathy. He whines incessantly about the same things week after week.
 

I could care less if he is right or left politically, however for years he was known as a left leaning comic. His embrace of the right wing culture wars is puzzling and disappointing. Furthermore, I don’t buy into the whole “as you age you become more conservative”. I’m older than Bill as are a lot of my friends and other family members and we have become more left leaning as we have gotten older yet we still try to keep our minds open to alternate points of view. Unlike Bill who seems to have canceled people like me.

Edited August 21, 2022 by Hedgehog2022

[deirdra]

Bill has always been a Libertarian

[Tara]

12 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

my point was that the Bill Maher that we have watched on Real Time for quite some time is not the same person today. He has become a bitter, mean spirited man who lacks compassion and empathy. He whines incessantly about the same things week after week.

Bill has not changed….he is the man he always has been. A man I have found witty and intelligent when I agree with him, and whom I’ve found infuriating when I disagree with him.

But never, never someone who will bow down to other’s opinions. He has always, and still is, not afraid to give a big fuck you to those who try to quiet his opinion.

[heatherchandler]

28 minutes ago, Tara said:

Bill has not changed….he is the man he always has been. A man I have found witty and intelligent when I agree with him, and whom I’ve found infuriating when I disagree with him.

But never, never someone who will bow down to other’s opinions. He has always, and still is, not afraid to give a big fuck you to those who try to quiet his opinion.

I think that’s why I like him so much.

I don’t always agree with everything he says, but it’s funny that I do agree most of the time.  
 

I have always hated BJ Novak, something about him just irritates me.  But I warmed to him a tiny bit on this.  I actually want to see the movie.

[Hedgehog2022]

2 hours ago, Tara said:

Bill has not changed….he is the man he always has been. A man I have found witty and intelligent when I agree with him, and whom I’ve found infuriating when I disagree with him.

But never, never someone who will bow down to other’s opinions. He has always, and still is, not afraid to give a big fuck you to those who try to quiet his opinion.

We'll just have to agree to disagree.

[Soapy Goddess]

23 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

my point was that the Bill Maher that we have watched on Real Time for quite some time is not the same person today.

But really, is anyone the same person they were 25 years ago?

23 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

He has become a bitter, mean spirited man who lacks compassion and empathy. He whines incessantly about the same things week after week.

Sounds exactly like my husband...except I can't change the channel and make him disappear!😉

Edited August 22, 2022 by Soapy Goddess

[ApocalypseThen]

I’m often one of the viewers in this forum defending the show, but I have no problem with admitting that this episode was horrendous. 
 

As others mentioned, Bill’s refusal to engage with Rampbell’s examples about the threats from the right made him look really bad. Bill came off as incoherent and idiotic, which I don’t think he often does despite his flaws. 
 

Rothman easily ranks among the worst guests that Bill has on. He’s “Rick Santorum” awful. 

I don’t remember even 5 minutes in which there was a meaningful discussion about any topic. Novak’s interview was fine, but his main point about “Let’s try to understand rednecks and get along” has been covered ad nauseam on the show.

 

[RealHousewife]

On 8/20/2022 at 8:22 PM, benteen said:

Much better episode than last week but Bill did himself no favors by undercutting a lot of his recent arguments. His criticism of the left for cancel culture is valid and the bit about them shutting down a show that portrayed a racist character as racist was ridiculous. But he seems to be so upset with the far left over this that he completely poo-poo's the censorship issues when it comes from the far right. He has been highly critical of the Supreme Court's Roe decision for weeks but now it "doesn't affect him" when it comes to grinding his particular axe? 

At least I finally get why his favorite topic is cancel culture. It's one of the few things that will affect him as a wealthy straight white male of a particular age. Once upon a time he seemed to actually GAF about what happened in this country. 

[Tara]

The FBI has been known to eat its young. They absolutely should be defunded. 

[lovinbob]

New Rule: Bill has to invite guests for the opening interview who are taller than him. Admittedly, I haven't watched recently of late, but seeing him shake hands with BJ Novak reminded me how often his interview guests share his diminutive stature. 

[Hanahope]

Maher is more upset over a movie not getting distributed than women losing control over their bodies?  Really?  Who’s more out of touch?