Comedian Marc Maron took shots at fellow comedian and podcaster Bill Maher over the weekend, calling the “Real Time” host “desperate” on an episode of Pod Save America.
Maron said he always had “a problem” with Maher’s tone of voice, and that his stand-up is “just not for me.”
“Like I feel with Bill… that there is this, and it happens with some of the other boomers, there’s this desperate chasing of relevance that changes someone’s mind in terms of how they approach what they do and also kind of makes the whole undertaking feel desperate,” he said.
Maron praised Maher’s writers’ room, saying they “know how to write for his tone.” But he said there’s an overall sweatiness to his schtick that he can’t move past. Maron said he “can’t see past [Maher’s] desperation and what he’s willing to do to stay in the conversation.”
It’s not the first time that Maron has criticized Maher’s work. The comic referred to Maher as “a b**ch” earlier this year for agreeing with “some of the things” President Donald Trump supports.
In October 2023, Maron spoke with The Daily Beast on comedians aligning with the political right, taking the opportunity to level a shot at Maher.
“These guys just have to die sooner. We’re seeing it with Bill Maher now,” Maron said. “Again, I’m going to be fielding calls and probably some tweets that are not going to—it doesn’t matter.”
Maher, for his part, has been both critical and supportive of Trump. In January, Maher loudly criticized Trump for his handling of the LA wildfires, and recently lampooned a recruitment campaign by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At the same time, Maher has publicly expressed anti-trans rhetoric that aligns with Trump’s views.
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