Bill Maher fires off hot take on writers: They’re not owed a living
By Matt Moore
Bill Maher has kept himself busy during the writers’ strike, even as late-night TV remains on hiatus. The Real Time host used his podcast platform to share a hot take on Hollywood’s writers.
Club Random provides Maher a space to share his political, social, and cultural opinions outside of late-night TV. The podcast has provided plenty of memorable soundbites and pull quotes in its short history.
But Maher touched a nerve again during his recent episode with Jim Gaffigan. Discussing the current Writers Guild of America strike, Maher argued that the philosophy behind the stoppage is flawed. Essentially, Maher chalks it up to “show business” and says that writers aren’t owed anything, much less a living.
“[Writers] kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not,” Maher expressed. “This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league.”
Knowing that writers are responsible for Real Time‘s successful run over the past 20 years, Maher attempted to express some level of sympathy. However, it wasn’t without an exception:
"I feel for my writers. I love my writers. I’m one of my writers. But there’s a big other side to it. And a lot of people are being hurt besides them—a lot of people who don’t make as much money as them in this bipartisan world we have where you’re just in one camp or the other. There’s no in-between. You’re either for the strike like they’re f***ing Che Guevara out there, you know, like, this is Cesar Chavez’s lettuce picking strike—or you’re with Trump. There’s no difference—there’s only two camps. And it’s much more complicated than that."
Bill Maher says writers picked a bad time to go on strike
This isn’t the first writers’ strike Bill Maher has been through during his time in late-night TV. But the Real Time host doesn’t see many similarities between the 2023 WGA strike and what happened in 2007.
Maher argued that the philosophy behind the strike “really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike.” While that’s true, it’s not necessarily an offense on the part of the writers. The Hollywood landscape changed drastically since 2007, with streaming adding a completely new wrinkle to residuals, contracts, and more.
Continuing, Maher suggested that it all came down to comedy. A seasoned comedian like Maher should know a thing or two about timing. But the writers on strike apparently don’t have that same instinct.
“They struck at just the wrong time; they have no leverage. Has anyone who is watching TV recently noticed a difference? Has it affected the person down the pipeline?,” Maher asked. “I don’t think so. I haven’t noticed a difference. At some point, I guess that will happen. What day is that when Netflix runs out of what they have in the warehouse?”
Considering Maher’s HBO show is off the air and his staff is currently out of work, it’s a bizarre take from the late-night host. Don’t expect him to join his fellow comedians over at Strike Force Five any time soon.