Bill Maher’s Gripe About Quitting Stand-Up Years After Ice Cube Pressed Him Over the N-Word Joke He Thought Would Land
Bill Maher is not bringing his comedy to a city near you any time soon. Instead, fans will have to keep tuning into his “Club Random” podcast and his talk show “Real Time” on HBO to hear his jokes.
The 69-year-old stand-up comic blames political climate for pushing him offstage — but many haven’t forgotten his heated clash with Ice Cube years ago, which some believe is still haunting his public appeal.
During a recent chat with podcast guest Patton Oswalt, Maher explained, “I feel like it was a great choice because I don’t want to be out there in this country in this political atmosphere. I could get shot by the left or the right.” He added, “It’s a good time to not be out there.” His last show was in late 2024.
Among the immediate reactions to the soundbite was one that stated, “Mighty wh1te of you Billy.” Someone else said, “Oh Bill…. you’re not interesting or edgy enough to shoot. You can keep doing your little act if you want.”
One of many who thought Maher was never funny noted, “Took a while, but Bill Maher finally said something funny.”
The veteran comic previously expressed that comedy was the perfect avenue to get to the truth of politics. However, his punchlines often align with his anti-woke frustrations.
He told The Wall Street Journal, “This is one of the issues I have with the left. They can’t stand to have to endure a moment of hearing something they don’t already agree with. Not that the right doesn’t do it, too, but the left does it worse,”
Maher has come under fire for his often brash and politically incorrect sense of humor. One of his more controversial moments occurred during a 2017 interview with Republican Sen. Ben Sasse. The Nebraska lawmaker invited the entertainer to join him in the fields, to which Maher responded, “Senator, I’m a house N-word.”
His casual use of the epithet incited calls for his HBO show to be cancelled. Maher addressed the infraction head-on days later when Ice Cube appeared on the program. The host explained, “There was no thought put into it. … It was wrong, and I apologize.”
Instead of raining down condemnation, the rapper used their dialogue as a teachable moment. “You got a lot of Black jokes … Sometimes you sound like a redneck trucker up here,” Ice Cube began. “Some things just ain’t funny. This is real right here, what we’re going through.”
Cube gave Maher a “teachable moment” by stating, “I accept your apology, but I still think we need to get to the root of the psyche because I think it’s a lot of guys out there who cross the line ‘cause they a little too familiar, or they think they too familiar.”
But not all are sold on Maher’s claim that politically motivated danger scared him off the stand-up stage. An X user tweeted, “He started pandering to Trump and lost his base; that is what his problem is. He is done selling a lot of tickets.” Another person shredded him with their response to him hanging up the mic.
The individual wrote, “These old white men love pretending they’re starring in some political Hunger Games when the truth is nobody is thinking about them… Be serious. It would be better is he just said he got tired of competing with comedians who actually write jokes instead of recycling Fox News monologues.”
Even Maher admitted that there was another factor behind his decision. “Not that I didn’t sell a lot of tickets and do great theaters — but I didn’t sell arenas,” he admitted. “And some people did, who, frankly, are not that great. But, you know, when the audience is 35 to 45, they don’t wanna see somebody 70.”
In the event that fans need an extra dose of his satire, they can always press play on his weekly HBO series, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” or one of his 13 HBO specials.
