The liberal media pounced on the comedian Bill MaherHBO’s new stand-up special urges viewers to “STOP IT.”
Reviewers at MSNBC.com, Decider, Salon and Cracked slammed the special, which aired on January 10, “Is Anyone Else Seeing This?” as “lazy” and transformed. They also referred to the comedian’s jokes that mocked far-left ideology.
“Nothing exciting here and nothing you don’t already see or hear from him most other weekends in real time, so SKIP IT,” Sean McCarthy of Decider wrote in his Review on Monday.
Maher’s special took aim at the fringes of the right and the left, mocking everything from MAGE to “woke” culture. He also took a dig at President-elect Donald Trump, saying he might “blow up the world on day one” and joking about how his “ear was pierced” in an assassination attempt last year.
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Various liberal media outlets have slammed HBO host Bill Maher with scathing criticism of his new comedy special. (Screenshot/HBO)
McCarthy ripped the comedian for the lack of memorable or edgy material, stating that it doesn’t push the boundaries for his viewers in any real way.
“Maher believes he has found a comfortable path by claiming to be a centrist liberal who only seems to the right because liberals are ‘too woke,'” he said, adding, “This is not so much a place for comedians as it is for those Americans who have already established a comfortable lifestyle and don’t want to be disturbed by anything outside their bubble.”
“Real talk: Maher seems unable or unwilling to listen or learn. Just like too many people radicalized by their social media feeds, Maher’s comedy is stuck in its own bubble,” he said, adding, “This is comedy for people who still post on Facebook, still forward email chains and still watch his show.”
In a review titled “Bill Maher Serves Old, Reheated Beef in New Special,” MSNBC.com columnist Jacques Berlinerblau he described the special as “a pretty listless set”.
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“That’s partly because Maher’s views on these issues are so well-known that his punch lines didn’t come as a surprise. He also seems unwilling to put in the craft work required to make his stand-up material edgy or thought-provoking,” he explained. reviewer.
Berlinerblau added that Maher isn’t even self-aware enough of his own specialness to criticize the fact that he “seems to have transmogrified into an old, conservative white guy waving his fist at Generation Z, new gender categories, the EpiPen, and anything else that didn’t exist in 1964.” “
Matt Solomon of Cracked.com trashed Maher’s special by comparing it to the comedy of another entertainer he appeared to despise.
“[T]veteran comic Rob Schneider makes the same lazy arguments whenever a podcast host offers him a microphone and a chair: the left is trying to take away his free speech and everyone but the comic is crazy,” he wrote.
Solomon continued, “He hates victims, yet the irony eludes him as he cries at anyone who would stifle his free speech. (Another irony: In the end, no one tried to silence Bill Maher.)”
Bill Maher on the set of his “Club Random” podcast. (Screenshot/Club Random Media)
His review ended with a plea to Maher to end his stand-up career. He wrote: “Back in May, Maher told Jerry Seinfeld that this HBO special could be his last. With his TV show and podcasts doing well, maybe it’s time to move on. ‘After this year, I’m going to quit ( work stand-up), he promised after watching if anyone else is watching, I have one question: Bill, can we get it in writing?”
Maher confirmed to CNN’s Jake Tapper that he is likely to retire from his stand-up career soon, though he insisted that he will continue with HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.“
Salon.com Senior Critic Melanie McFarland described the special as a “lazy comedy”, saying it consisted of material that “was composted years ago by better jokers”.
McFarland mocked Maher, saying, “How’s this for breaking news? Maher hates dismissal culture, which doesn’t exist, and ‘revivalism,’ a jaded right-wing specter that no one can define. Maher announces his statement that he supports the trans community in the same way which every other hack comic does, in a way that says the obligatory words to make the audience comfortable with the uninspired observations that accompany them.”
Seemingly addressing complaints from progressives about his targeting of the far left, Maher made it clear in the special that he sees Republicans, Trump and the political far right as a greater threat to the country because of their refusal to accept defeat in the 2020 election, but added: “No I keep my mouth shut about nobody.”
In his new comedy special, Bill Maher talked about his past calls for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race before it became fashionable. (Screenshot/HBO – Getty Images)
Don’t tell me the left hasn’t changed, Maher said. “So you can threaten me with whatever label you want. I don’t bend the knee. If you do something stupid, I’ll call you out, no matter where you are on the spectrum. I’m speaking to a different group of people who are not ideologically trapped by either party, independent and non-slobbering Republicans , that’s my electorate.”
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Maher also addressed transgender ideology, free speech, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, his past calls for President Biden to drop out of the race and more in the one-hour special.
