HBO’s Bill Maher attacked his former ABC bosses on Friday’s Real Time for suspending his replacement, Jimmy Kimmel. According to Maher, Kimmel was wrong in what he said, but he has a right to say it, and ABC’s suspension means the network stands for “Always Be Caving.” While Maher’s position may seem like a consistent and principled stand in favor of free speech, he got a couple key details wrong.
Maher began by expressing his solidarity with Kimmel, “It was 24 years to the day that I made comments on ABC that got me canceled from that network, and Jimmy Kimmel took my slot. Did you know that? Politically Incorrect? Oh yes, I got canceled before cancel even had a culture. So, do headlines. Yeah, this is on my wall. From the Variety, ‘White House keeps heat on ABC’s Maher.’ This shit isn't new. It’s worse. We’ll get to that.”
That is a reference to September 17, 2001’s Politically Incorrect, where Maher declared, “We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away, that’s cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, not cowardly.”
The two controversies led Maher to declare, “But ABC? They are steady. ABC stands for ‘Always be caving.’ So, Jimmy, Jimmy, pal, I am with you, I support you, and on the bright side you don't have to pretend anymore that you like Disneyland. That was always a great part of it for me when I got my ass canned over there.”
A few moments later, Maher addressed the actual substance of Kimmel’s remarks, “Jimmy, look, I don’t think what he said was exactly right. I don't, we don't agree on that. He shouldn't lose his job for it. He said the MAGA crowd was trying to characterize the assassin as anything but one of them because the 22-year-old kid, his family was MAGA. As if a 22-year-old with a trans girlfriend never rebelled against their family?”
He continued, “I mean, but was he on the left? I don't know that either, and I hate to do this. I'm tipping the end of the show, which I work so hard on to keep a secret from the rest of the show, but it's too relevant. What I'm talking about at the end, I'm going to have to say now, which is that it is a fool's errand to try to say these nuts who do these things are any team. Jimmy is wrong, I think, to put him in one team, but, you know, look at what this guy is doing.”
Maher reiterated that he thinks everybody’s wrong, “I mean, Jimmy has every right to be wrong, but look at this guy, he was doing porn video games with furries. He was on a game called Furry Shades of Gay 3. This kid is in his basement with the VR goggles on getting virtually ass fucked by a cartoon wombat, and you're going to put politics into this?”
When people usually talk about “these nuts,” they are talking about people like the guy who firebombed the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion being a bipolar schizophrenic who was off his meds. However, here, Maher is using “nuts” as a synonym for “weirdo,” which does not exclude devotion to a political cause.
Additionally, as of the writing of this article, Kimmel has not lost his job. In fact, it appears Disney and ABC want to bring him back, but Kimmel reportedly is opposed to apologizing. Cancel culture usually revolves around stupid posts someone made in high school or having an opinion that someone else doesn’t like. Kimmel is a 57-year old man who was suspended for either winking and nudging at vile conspiracy theories or lying by omission when he refused to explain why MAGA people are trying to disprove the idea that the shooter was “one of them.” If Maher really believes Kimmel was wrong, he should call his friend and urge him to apologize.
Here is a transcript for the September 19 show:
HBO Real Time with Bill Maher
9/19/2025
10:03 PM ET
BILL MAHER: It was 24 years to the day that I made comments on ABC that got me canceled from that network, and Jimmy Kimmel took my slot. Did you know that? Politically Incorrect? Oh yes, I got canceled before cancel even had a culture. So, do headlines. Yeah, this is on my wall. From the Variety, “White House keeps heat on ABC’s Maher.” This shit isn't new. It’s worse. We’ll get to that.
But ABC? They are steady. ABC stands for "Always be caving." So, Jimmy, Jimmy, pal, I am with you, I support you, and on the bright side you don't have to pretend anymore that you like Disneyland. That was always a great part of it for me when I got my ass canned over there.
…
Jimmy, look, I don’t think what he said was exactly right. I don't, we don't agree on that. He shouldn’t lose his job for it. He said the MAGA crowd was trying to characterize the assassin as anything but one of them because the 22-year-old kid, his family was MAGA. As if a 22-year-old with a trans girlfriend never rebelled against their family?
I mean, but was he on the left? I don't know that either and I hate to do this. I'm tipping the end of the show, which I work so hard on to keep a secret from the rest of the show, but it's too relevant. What I'm talking about at the end, I'm going to have to say now, which is that it is a fool's errand to try to say these nuts who do these things are any team. Jimmy, is wrong, I think to put him in one team, but, you know, look at what this guy is doing.
I mean, Jimmy has every right to be wrong, but look at this guy, he was doing porn video games with furries. He was on a game called Furry Shades of Gay 3. This kid is in his basement with the VR goggles on getting virtually ass fucked by a cartoon wombat, and you're going to put politics into this?
