Bill Maher Calls for Al Franken’s Return and Blasts His Accusers on ‘Real Time’
“Women… didn’t completely lose the ability to lie in 2017,” Maher says
Ross A. Lincoln | September 7, 2018 @ 8:30 PM
Last Updated: September 8, 2018 @ 5:30 AM
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On Friday, Bill Maher called for the return of Al Franken, and questioned the credibility of the women who accused the former senator of sexual harassment.
“Women should be heard and we should always keep in mind the vast majority of women reporting serious abuse are truthful. But women also didn’t completely lose the ability to lie in in 2017,” Maher said.
The comments came on HBO’s “Real Time,” during Maher’s “New Rules” segment. Maher said Donald Trump’s “kryptonite” is “being made fun of.”
“We need someone who can shred Trump like a stand up takes down a heckler. Because Trump is a heckler. And to fight him, we need a comedian,” Maher said. “It would be a great idea if Al Franken got back in the game.”
In November 2017, eight women accused Franken of various acts of sexual harassment from both before and after he was elected to the U.S. Senate. This prompted several members of the Democratic senatorial delegation to call on him to step down. Franken announced on Dec. 7 that he would resign, and did so Jan. 2, though he has consistently denied the accusations of wrongdoing.
About those accusations, Maher said, “You know what? America always overreacts and then has buyer’s remorse. We did it with 9/11, and Janet Jackson’s nipple, and bird flu, and Bill Clinton’s blow job. And certainly, the all-time overreaction was ‘Al Franken: sex predator.'”
Maher then recounted how the accusations began with radio host Leeann Tweeden, who performed at several USO shows with Franken and said that in 2006 Franken forcibly kissed her during a rehearsal. This was followed by the release of a photograph in which Franken appeared to grope Tweeden while she was sleeping.
“It’s a joke, he apologized for it, no one died,” Maher said about the photo.
“What’s been forgotten is that while Al was always careful to say women should be heard, he never said, ‘Yeah, I did it,'” Maher continued.
Maher then suggested that Tweeden may have accused Franken for political reasons: “Now, Leeann Tweeden is a favorite guest of Sean Hannity, and a Donald Trump Jr. Twitter pal. And somehow Roger Stone knew ‘It’s Al Franken’s time in the barrel’ before she made her allegations public.”
“I believe Al,” Maher continued. “I believe that’s still my right as an American to say. Women should be heard and we should always keep in mind the vast majority of women reporting serious abuse are truthful. But women also didn’t completely lose the ability to lie in in 2017.”
This got a very muted response from the audience, and panel guest Michelle Goldberg interjected: “I have to say for the record, there was a lot of ass grabbing too.”
“I’m going to get to that, and it quite isn’t your place, sorry,” Maher replied. “I mean, you have the whole show and I have this little time at the end.”
Maher turned next to the seven other women, who he said had accused Franken of “mostly hand-drifting while taking pictures. Does it matter that at least two of these are ridiculous?”
“Again, our president now is Joan Crawford. Are Democrats really going to permanently send away one of of our ablest warriors for being a waist-grabber?”
Maher then compared Franken favorably to Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden.
“We can have #MeToo and Al Franken. They’re not mutually exclusive. It’s time to get Al off the bench so he can come back to doing what he does better than any other Democrat, taking down right-wing blowhards. I want to see Al Franken debate Donald Trump, and you know what? So do you,” Maher concluded.
11 Times Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect Comments Sparked Outrage (Photos)
Comedian Bill Maher has made a career of saying things that could come back to haunt him, both on his former ABC show "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher" and on his current HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher." Though Maher prides himself on being politically incorrect, there have been plenty of times he's said offensive things that got him into hot water. Here's a look at 11 of them.
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11. Maher interviews alt-right darling Milo Yiannopoulos After Milo’s speech at Berkeley University was canceled because of protests that included a few small fires and thrown objects, Maher brought the alt-right idol in for an interview. Though Milo’s anti-feminism, anti-transgender and anti-Muslim positions are well known -- as is his role in the harassment-focused online movement known as GamerGate -- Maher offered almost no pushback against Milo. Read more here.
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10. Maher jokes about Tila Tequila being assaulted In 2009, news broke that Tila Tequila claimed she’d been assaulted by then-boyfriend and San Diego Charger Shawne Merriman. Maher responded with a joke many found sexist: “New rule: Stop acting surprised someone choked Tila Tequila! The surprise is that someone hasn’t choked this bitch sooner.”
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9. Maher claims Hillary Clinton cried for political gain During the 2008 presidential campaign, Maher tore into Clinton. In what many read as a sexist remark, Maher said women use crying to win arguments and accused Clinton of crying on the campaign trail for the same reason. Watch the clip here.
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8. Maher says millions of Muslims supported the “Charlie Hebdo” attacks Maher has a long history of being highly critical of religion and, in recent years, of Islam in particular. In the wake of the 2015 “Charlie Hebdo” attack in France, Maher said “hundreds of millions” of Muslims supported the violence, in which 12 people were killed and 11 more were injured. Watch the clip.
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7. He gets into an Islamophobia argument with Ben Affleck On a panel with actor Ben Affleck and author Sam Harris, Maher defended Harris’ assertions about Islam, including when Harris said “Islam at this moment is the mother lode of bad ideas.” The discussion turned into a shouting match, as Affleck quickly challenged the stance and bigotry related to discussions of Islam. Watch the clip here.
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6. Maher compares One Direction’s Zayn Malik to Boston Marathon bomber Singer Zayn Malik quit the band One Direction, prompting a few jokes from Maher during an episode. But people were angered when Maher asked, “Where were you during the Boston Marathon,” placing an image of Malik beside one of bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Many saw the joke as one mocking both Malik’s appearance and his Muslim faith. Watch the clip.
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5. He defends Bill O’Reilly’s joke about Maxine Waters After former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly said Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ hair looked like a “James Brown wig,” Maher came to his defense on “Real Time.” Maher’s point: liberals can’t take a joke. Many criticized O’Reilly’s joke to be racist, and he later apologized. Watch the clip here.
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4. Maher says dogs are like children with mental disabilities In the middle of making some point about how he’s not lauded enough for raising dogs, Maher said dogs are “like retarded children.” Guests floundered both to address Maher’s use of the offensive word and the much more offensive comparison of children with disabilities to animals. Watch the clip.
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3. ...And makes fun of Sarah Palin’s son Trig Maher pushed that button again when he referred to Trig as “it” and said he “looks a lot like John Edwards.” Watch the clip here.
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2. Maher says 9/11 terrorists weren’t cowardly Maher's ABC show “Politically Incorrect" was canceled in June 2002 after what he later explained was his attempt to level criticism against the American military. Less than a week after Sept. 11, 2001, Maher said the terrorists who stayed aboard planes were “warriors,” adding that the U.S. had been cowardly for firing cruise missiles at enemies “from 2,000 miles away.” The comment caused a row, as advertisers pulled out of the show. Watch the clip.
The “Real Time” host has said the n-word on TV… and a lot more
Comedian Bill Maher has made a career of saying things that could come back to haunt him, both on his former ABC show "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher" and on his current HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher." Though Maher prides himself on being politically incorrect, there have been plenty of times he's said offensive things that got him into hot water. Here's a look at 11 of them.