Marc Maron didn't hold back when sharing his feelings about one of the most prominent late-night TV hosts. The stand-up comedian blasted the host for what Maron sees as a desperate bid to stay relevant.
Appearing on the Pod Save America podcast, Maron was asked about Bill Maher. "I can't do it," he said about the Real Time host. "I always had a problem with his tone," Maron added. "I feel with Bill that there is this ... desperate chasing of relevance that changes someone's mind."
Maron takes particular offense with Maher's approach to "wokeness." The Real Time host has made it a personal crusade over the past few years to attack anything he considers woke or too politically correct. According to Maher, everything from movies to Halloween has been negatively influenced by a "woke" agenda.
But Maron questioned just how authentic those views are, suggesting it's all part of Maher's efforts to stay in the "conversation." The WTF podcast host gave Maher credit for his jokes on Real Time, or more accurately credited Maher's writers for understanding the host's tone.
It's when Maher gets into an interview, shares his "New Rule" thoughts, or starts moderating a panel that he loses Maron. Maher's attacks on "woke" ideology align much more with conservative thought than with the left, where Maron finds himself on the political spectrum. Maron certainly isn't the first person to question Maher's views over the past few years or how they've started to move more to the right.
If Maher's goal is to stay relevant, then it's working to a degree. His commentary routinely goes viral, mostly for sparking outrage among liberal viewers surprised to hear what side Maher argues. His podcast, Club Random, also attracts attention for the diverse group of guests who are willing to sit with Maher.
There was a time when Maron was on board with Maher, at least using the comedian's platforms to boost his own career. Maron noted that he appeared on Maher's old show Politically Incorrect, and has since been a guest on Real Time three times between 2011 and 2015.
Just don't expect to see Maron stopping by the HBO show anytime soon for a reunion. The comedian owes a lot to late-night TV, appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Late Show with David Letterman throughout the '90s and 2000s. But those hosts displayed more authenticity than what Maron sees in Maher. Or, the 2025 version of Maher, at least.