(Headline USA) After CNN announced this week that it would add late night host Bill Maher’s show to its Friday night line-up, leftists slammed Maher as “too right-wing.”
Maher, a liberal, has been openly critical of the cultural Left, especially on issues like the COVID-19 pandemic and transgenderism. As a result, he’s now a “right-winger,” according to progressives.
“Bill Maher is actually perfect for CNN to be honest. False equivalencies, propping up right-wing culture war talking points, fighting for the status quo and that smug face. [Jake] Tapper might get jealous because he might be outsmugged,” Cenk Uygur, leftist host of the Young Turks show, claimed on Twitter.
Bill Maher is actually perfect for CNN to be honest. False equivalencies, propping up right-wing culture war talking points, fighting for the status quo and that smug face. Tapper might get jealous because he might be outsmugged.
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) January 30, 2023
MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan agreed and even accused Maher of being a closet racist.
“Hmm. Bill Maher is obsessed with this idea that ‘cancel culture is out of control.’ Yet Maher himself just got a new CNN gig, despite saying outrageous things about Muslims, Arabs, and trans people; making crass jokes about Asians; & using the N-word on TV. Cancel culture? Ok,” Hassan wrote.
Hmm. Bill Maher is obsessed with this idea that 'cancel culture is out of control.' Yet Maher himself just got a new CNN gig, despite saying outrageous things about Muslims, Arabs, and trans people; making crass jokes about Asians; & using the N-word on TV.
Cancel culture? Ok.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 30, 2023
Self-described journalist Chuck Nodi said anyone who “is not a right-winger” should “drop” Maher, whom he called a “clown.”
Bill Maher just rewarded with a new gig on CNN. Will reup my piece on why anyone not a right-winger should drop this sad face clown. And he’s gotten 100X more insufferable & bigoted since 2017 when I wrote it.https://t.co/cZpjAuHN5a
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) January 30, 2023
Media Matters hack Eric Hananoki claimed Maher’s show is a “big middle finger” to CNN’s Muslim employees.
This is certainly a big middle finger to CNN's Muslim employees. CNN executives can read all about Bill Maher on Muslims on their own website, e.g.: https://t.co/0pnUp8sOgb https://t.co/jmuWpC6MkT
— Eric Hananoki (@ehananoki) January 30, 2023
CNN, however, clearly thinks Maher can help the network crawl out of its current ratings slump. In fact, CNN logged the worst week of ratings it’s had in nine years between Jan. 16-22. Only 93,000 viewers in the coveted 25-54 demographic tuned into CNN that week, and only 444,000 total viewers watched its primetime shows.
NN has considered introducing its own late-night comedy show to help bring back some viewers. Possible hosts for the late-night show include Maher, Jon Stewart, Trevor Noah and Arsenio Hall.
However, CNN CEO Chris Licht said such a show won’t be coming to the network any time in the near future.
“I worked on a comedy show. And it took over 200 people to produce an actual comedy show,” he said in an interview. “So no, I would not be so foolish as to, in one fell swoop, hurt the brand of comedy and news by trying to do a comedy show on CNN.”
