You know you’re out there when Bill Maher thinks you’re too “gross” to talk to — or even about.
Shortly before he introduced a story about the Japanese art of “b*tt-breathing,” the Real Time host said of another topic, “I almost didn’t want to talk about this person because he’s so gross, but it’s such a big issue…This guy Nick Fuentes…He’s what I would call ‘a racist’s racist.’ He’s just this troll. He’s the guy who runs on the field at a baseball game. So you don’t take the picture of him. But we kind of have to talk about him.”
Interjected guest Bill O’Reilly, “Does that mean we can beat him up? Because that’s what happens when you go on the field.”
“I would like to,” Maher responded, who then called Fuentes and his followers “pointlessly politically incorrect,” name-dropping his own former ABC show.
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Earlier this week, Tucker Carlson took heat for having Fuentes on his podcast. Fuentes in the past has professed admiration for Hitler and Stalin, insulted feminists with the slogan “Your body, my choice. Forever” and has insisted that “all sex is gay.”
The controversial Fuentes made waves on Carlson’s show, ranting about “neocon Jewish types behind the Iraq War” and “Zionist Jews … controlling the media apparatus.”
Maher responded on his own show Friday with a scathing version of his satirical segment “24 Things You Don’t Know About Me,” dedicated to Fuentes.
Among the alleged details Maher’s staff unearthed, delivered in first-person as if from Fuentes’ POV: “My drag queen name is ‘Jan Sixth”; “I’m not gay, but a guy I’m f*cking is”; “I once called ICE on the part of me that is Mexican”; and “Kanye once asked me if I was off my meds.”
You can watch the bit below.
After the segment, O’Reilly asked Maher why he hasn’t had Fuentes on his show.
“That’s a bridge too far for me. He’s just a troll. He’s not sincere. It’s just gross. I didn’t even want to talk about him tonight,” replied Maher.
“You have to talk about him,” contended O’Reilly, “Because he broke through [the media noise].”
O’Reilly then said, “I didn’t invite him on my program. You can get somebody like him at Speakers Corner in London any time you want.”
“Right,” replied Maher.
“So, why would you have him and waste all these nice peoples’ time?” asked O’Reilly, gesturing to the audience, which applauded.