Celebutard of the Week: Bill Maher
by Andrea Peyser
You’d think they’d learn.
The Oscars have always been a venue where celebs bash presidents, governments and endorse leftist candidates. But this year the Oscars hit a low even for Hollywood – allowing Bill Maher to bitterly bash religion. For personal reasons. This earns him the title of Celebutard of the Week, in keeping with my new book: “Celebutards: The Hollywood Hacks, Limousine Liberals and Pandering Politicians Who are Destroying America.’’ (Kensington).
Maher, who became infamous for applauding the suicide bombers after 9/11, took the stage at the Kodak Theater on Oscar night to present an award for Best Documentary, and bitterly noted that his movie, “Religulous,’’ was not nominated for a gold statuette.
Because the film stunk? No, Herr Maher said. Because it was too controversial.
Now as a producer and a star of my own documentary this year, the one about religion that didn’t get nominated. I know, it’s a touchy subject. But someday, we all have to confront the notion that our silly gods cost the world too greatly. But there I go, ruining the ending.
This is a man who previously called organized religion a form of mass insanity, and praised Michael Jackson for “servicing” little boys.
If his film were nominated for an Oscar, however, you know he’d thank God.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
247 Comments
Bill Maher makes a living saying things that are outrageous. And stupid. He stopped being funny long ago.
http://the100mostannoyingthings.blogspot.com/
I'm pretty sure that Maher does everything he does, all of it, in order to maintain his open invitation to parties at the Playboy Mansion. There's really no "there" there.
Mankind seems to have a deep-seated need to believe with a fervor in the un-provable that requires faith. Whether you are a devotee of religion or an atheistic devotee of science. The intellectually honest man or woman cannot deny that they must in part take some things on faith. Just as you cannot rpove or disprove the existence of any deity, so can you not prove or disprove many things about how the universe and humanity works scientifically and therefore, you must go on your faith that it will be explained by science "someday." Personally, my faith is in God, but plenty of others feel differently. Tolerance demands that I allow them that even if I don't accept it's validity for myself.
Sadly, I think he feels now that he's exactly how he appears, a very nasty little man.
We sure got told off last night! I'm still trying to think of one church I know which 'hates' homosexuals..so far, nary a one, happily. The STARS scoff God but stand up in ovation for their gods on stage. (thanks for having Andrea Peyser here..I've enjoyed reading her for years)
I need to make a documentary about how modern American liberalism is a religion that costs the world too greatly.
Don't forget about environmentalism, it's just like a religion as well. They kneel before their scientific models, and Al Gore is their pope.
With the microscopic amount of brain-power that Bill Maher has, I'm surprised he is able to breathe. I can't recall him saying a single intelligent thing in his career.
Religion isn't the real point here. Maher is mearly using it to keep his face in the spotlight. Basically, it is his latest "Schtick". It used to be the 9/11 suicide bombers and Bush, but that got old and he needed to move on. He'll change it again after he is done offending anyone he possibly can and when he stops getting invited to be on Larry King.
Because our BH contributors were dutifully watching this farce (Oscars) I loyally stuck with them ….. until Maher came on.
And the Oscar organizers were worried about viewership?
I'm confident that I didn't miss a thing.
The man thrives on being a dick.
Bill Maher is an atheist? Someone should remind him that in order to be an atheist, he should stop worshipping himself.
Bill Maher should have stuck to his day job
at Married With Children:
http://www.spike.com/video/bill-maher-on/2913839
Bill Maher is not the only Atheist in Hollywood. They all worship one golden idol or another. Oscar, Emmy, etc, etc, etc.
Do you think that parents of special needs children would be that thrilled with this site's incessant use of the phrase "tard"? Just sayin'
He is an idiot. A five star no holds barred moron. And he proved it.
Is it possible to be accepted among conservatives if you are a conservative atheist? I'm atheist but also conservative and realize I am in a very small, almost non-existent group.
Great point. I could not have put it better.
Love the "Celebutard of the Week" let us make it….regular.
Actually, viewership was up last night by 6%. Considering the full-court press that delusional TDK fans and movement conservatives had been engaging in for the last month and a half, you didn't exactly cause the ratings to drop.
That being said, I certainly hope Watchmen is a stiff, because as intolerable as the TDK crowd was with their whining for two months, 10 months of Watchmen geeks venting their spleens about the Oscars will be just too much.
Worst. Presenter. EVER!
Lon…of course! Conservatism is a big tent. I'm not sure you're correct about being in a small group….
While conservatives are often more traditionalist than liberals, and 'traditional' often includes faith, that doesn't discount you! Hang in there! (we'll convince you…kidding!)
I think BM (heh heh) is pissed off because he is not even remotely attractive, and probably got his ass kicked in school on a daily basis.
Anything he does or says is repulsive, so it does prove the "beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is to the bone" theory.
If he weren't "famous", he would be a bitter, lonely old man on the corner telling young whipper snappers to get off his lawn.
He's a small man with and adolescent mind longing for the approval of the hollywood elite. He looked lost and out of place on the stage last night.
Were the Oscars on last night. Man, I missed it.
How nice. The left has their own Morton Downey, Jr.
You can loathe BM for many reasons. Being an atheist is not one of them, at least to me. The fact that he feels superior because of that says much about him, nothing about people who believe in God. Candidly, the guy has not talent other than being a snide little turd who tries to inflame others.
Nice job Bill.
Environmentalism is to modern liberalism what Christianity is to Judaism.
Pretty much agreeing with most here,BM has become a sad characher of himself.I guess as you see your popularity slipping,you decend into screaming "outrageous "statments to garner attention.Unlike howard stern who used to do that with some skill,Bm has become the loud drunk at the end of the bar.
Wow I guess sorting that lint from the sock drawer and bellybutton was as much fun as I thought it would be. Well…Compared to watching the Oscars.
Hell Root Canal without proper medication and a burnted out light sounds pretty good.
I think BM just got a new nick name…..lol
I have a special needs kid. Doesn't bother me at all.
We have one unabashed plea against bigotry (Sean Penn) and then an all out bigot (Bill Maher against religions) on the other. Do they not see the irony of it?
It's funny how conservatives how their own brand of political correctness that perfectly corresponds to all the Leftist PC they claim about. Maher stated the simple truth that someone willing to blow himself up for his believe is not a coward–it's a pragmatic acknowledgement of reality, and conservative whiners try to turn it around on him as if he actually praised terrorists. More conservative PC: Don't criticize America. Ever. If you do so, then you hate America!
Miss Peyser also misinterprets as a praise a joke that is (to the comedically non-challenged, at least) at the expense of Michael Jackson.
they complain about*
Bill Maher Rules!!! I love him. His movie was great; it made me laugh, think, and laugh again. I really hope he does another one.
I'm an atheist as well,so no you're not alone.Being an atheist is not a licence to bash religion,unfortunately there are many (athiests) who push thier veiws on others with the energy of a zealot.Being an atheist does not make me a superior logical thinker,only someone who came up with a different conclusion.
Irony is list on the left.You have to have a sense of humor to get it.
I doubt it's such a small group!
And while it's likely a bit discouraging to hear people go off at "atheists", it really is pretty much just the obnoxious sort like Maher that people are disgusted with and railing against. The evangelical sort… the atheist crusaders that want to rid the world of sin. You know… like Maher.
I'd go so far as to say that most of the conservative blogs I read are pretty much not-Christian. A lot of the readers and commenters are, though, or at least a few who readily dive into doctrine or religious discussion. But really… that just means that there isn't a religious test over the company that conservatives keep.
The three greatest mass murderers in the 20th Century (Hitler, Mao, and Stalin) did so (in part) explicitly in the name of non-religion or outright atheism. The leaders of the abolition movement against slavery were Christians and rooted their opposition to slavery in their faith. One of the single most effective Cold Warriors (effective in that he was responsible for freeing millions from the slavery of Communism) was Pope John Paul II.
I'd rather live next to an evangelical Christian than Bill Maher.
You can't go simply by the numbers and assume that viewership was up despite our "delusional TDK [??]" I haven't watched in years, but because of Big Hollywood, I watched. Maybe 10% of the viewers were just like me, so then maybe there were really 4% fewer viewers?
Maher actually held a starring role in 1989s "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death." That little gem garners a rating of 4.4 at http://www.imdb.com.
That's 4.4 out of 10. Not 5. The film "Plan 9 From Outer Space" gets about 3.5. "Cannibal women…" makes you confront your gods. If you can watch it without saying "Good God" you're a better man than me.
"But someday, we all have to confront the notion that our silly gods cost the world too greatly."
Yes, Mr. Maher. We are all waiting for you to confront, not the notion, but the FACT that the religion of Leftism, in all its guises (communism, socialism, totalitarianism, etc) has cost the world far more than all of the established religions combined.
Ooh, "celebutard"! Zing! Keep up that high level of political discourse, conservatives, and maybe you'll win an election someday.
Ta
destroying/sacrificing yourself in combat,so that your comrades may live,or escape,is an act of courage.
blowing yourself up in the midst of unarmed civilians in the act of going about their day is an act of cowardice.
That is a simple truth.
I enjoy edgy satire, but he just isn't funny; he is sort of like that fat b*stard who looks like a 400lb Beaver Cleaver
Pimped the failing book by the third sentence. Congratulations!
I don't care what your personal belief system is so long as you are a decent human being, do right by others, and don't disparage me for believing differently. Generally, when I hang out with folks, faith does not come up at all unless someone else brings it up. I don't choose who I hang with based on whether I feel they're "right with God" or not; that's your own thing and none of mine.
Bev, you're just pulling numbers out of your behind here. AP reported that the Oscar broadcast was up 6% in viewership from last year.
I'm just curious as to how Andrea Peyser can say "liberals" (whatever that means) and the media are destroying America when Exxon Mobil (which is only one of several major oil companies) made 4x more profit in 2008 than all 5 major media companies combined. Are we bogged down in Iraq 'cause they wont show Disney channel over there? Did the banking system fail on Clinton's watch? Who's idea was it to start wars on 2 separate fronts?–both of which are thousands of miles away from home. Andrea "creampie-in-her-eye" Peyser ought to wash those eyeballs out and learn to see things for what they really are. Oh, but wait, she's selling a book! That's certainly not media is it?
So you call your kid a "tard" then? So you'll stay silent if other children call YOUR child a "tard"? I guess if it's ok, shall we call Trig Palin a "tard" then?
Hell, Karl Rove is an atheist. I guess according to the World Net Daily logic, Mr. Rove has no real morals because he doesn't follow the Christian Bible.
Maher is an egotistical jerk with no talent – save for the ability to sniff the limelight like a junkyard dog sniffs a garbage dump. Someone please put him down so we don't have to keep looking at him scratching his fleas in front of us.
I saw 5 minutes of the Oscar last night. After BM whining about his documentary not making the cut, I never went back to watching them. I had to chuckle about his anti-religion rant right after seeing Big Love ripping a Baptist that was complaining about the Mormon religion.
Hey BM, that swirling sound you heard as you walked off stage last night was your career being ushered on it's way to the sewage treatment facility. To call you a no-talent hack would be a grave disservice to actual no-talent hacks trying to eke out a living, like Britney or the J-Bro's.
Not that you said you liked or agreed with Maher, just saying .. Maher once compared "retarded," children his word, to dogs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe57F77ZKIs
Are you getting a tingle down your leg about the Oscars and ratings? Seems it.
Celebutard means a self induced reduction in mental abilities. Has nothing to do with those of us that deserve compassion.
Thanks for providing us with an example.
lets do some fact cking and explanation."liberals":leftists,usually witha strong socialist bent.currently being repackeged as "progressives"(if one brand name gets a bad rep.,change it to another.)
Exxon Mobile…whats your point making a profit is bad?(or do we have an"big oil secretly runs america wacko in our midst…put your money on the freemasons or the stone cutters)
Things in iraq have been going well lately.just had to root out the tango's(these things take time)But we know how you long for the genocide and rape rooms of saddams regime.(so remenicent of stalin mao and pol pot)
No the banking system did not fail on clintons watch,the seeds were merely planted then(ask barney frank he was there)
Yes!she's selling a book!(what is it with folks making a buck with you?)
Very pithy. You must be one of those nuance guys.
or girls.
It is INDEED wrong to say Maher "applauded" the terrorists after 9/11.
He merely pointed out (the clear fact) that it took guts – of the evil and degenerate variety – to pull off such a massive terrorist attack, and to obliterate yourself in the process; so it was confusing to call them 'cowards.'
The confusion comes when we reflexively call it 'cowardice' when terrorists kill civilians.
Same goes for suicide, in many cases. People will reflexively say killing yourself is cowardly. But the fact is, killing yourself takes guts. Better descriptives? 'Unmanly,' or 'degenerate.'
I gotcha…saving something for the sequel.
And your guy Obama is planning on spending more money than the GDP of the ENTIRE WORLD! Exxon knows how to make money. Obama is going to make Bush look like a piker when it comes to wasting taxpayers dollars. Obama's idea of making money involves a printing press, ink and paper.
lost……grrrrr.
I thought that Mr. Rove was Lucifer himself, or Darth Vader, or some-such.
I think that ideas about natural law produce nearly the same morality (or can) as traditional Christian morality does. What I don't really understand is the point at which someone who has a strong moral code grounded in natural law is threatened by someone who believes that right and wrong are dictated by God (who also dictates natural law, but there you go.)
Trying to deny that there are a great number of things about our common notion of right and wrong that are firmly based on a tradition of Judeo-Christian morality, on the other hand, is just silly.
As silly as Maher trying to tell us that the world would be a better place if we just tossed all of those traditional mores in the crapper.
"Or girls!" Hah! I get it! Because calling someone a girl is a super duper insult. When you're eleven.
Look, Andrea drops by once a week to pimp her book and never ever read a single comment or respond to same. That's called spam. BH deserves better.
Nah. It is nice to see that the ratings went up especially after BH and other sites were openly hoping for the ratings to plunge because of the TDK/Gran Tornio/Fireproof Oscar snubs. It's a small victory when you guys get things wrong.
Look, it's not like Maher said "Science put a man on the moon, religion flew planes into a building"
Natural law isn't specifically the exclusive domain of the Christian version of God, by the by.
Anyone who had watched Maher's "Politically Incorrect" before Sept. 11 knew he was going to come out immediately after it and say something confrontational, because that's his schtick — Bill wants to think he's daring and on the cutting edge by saying the sun rises in the west when everyone says it rises in the east, so last night's rant was as predictable as the proverbial morning sunrise on the eastern horizon.
There are plenty of ways to demonstrate that an awards show and/or an individual presenter at one are "irrelevant" or "not worth taking seriously." Spending what's probably gonna end up being MONTHS complaining about it? Not really thinkin' that's one of them.
My experience with most intelligent conservatives is that if you have a reason for your beliefs (I.e., you're atheist for a better reason than "Christianity is teh stoopid"), then there isn't any problem. It's every Christian's duty to try and convince you otherwise (Jesus flat out says so to the Disciples), but most of us are tactful enough not to proselytize.
The only things missing are the robes and the chanting… oh wait, "yes we can… yes we can.. yes we can… braaaaains."
[...] of the most elite award-winning filmmakers on the planet, he’s going to yank his own chain. He babbled about some sort of liberal athiestic superiority…couldn’t tell you quite what. The mute button in my brain clicked [...]
Agreed.
Yeah, but the AP is part of the Big Oscar Industrial Complex, I don't trust anything they say. No more black limousines! Truth to power! (pumps fist in air)
Sure, why not.
Cowardice:lack of courage to face danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc.
by hijacking a civilian airliner.did the terrorists face any of the above?the passengers were unarmed,the tango's were the only ones with weapons.not very difficult .
Flying the planes into buildings?did this require courage…you would have to go into the mind of the terrorist flying the aircraft to determine that.(i don't possess this power,and neither do you)
we can speculate though,Given the sad comedy that is arab armies in the feild,Attacking civilians is the only way that they can hope to enforce their will on others.
Did the terroriste of 9-11 meet the criteria above?that is a question that can only be answered by our own opinions.For myself,I believe it was cowardice.Everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
Maher acts like a POed kid that has been grounded for streaking the local nunnery. Locked in his bedroom with Doug Neidermeyer and Jeff Spicoli passing a joint and bitching about everything they don't like. Thinking he sounds smart.
==Natural law isn't specifically the exclusive domain of the Christian version of God…==
God 1.0 is the only version of God. There are no updates. No reason for updates. He's as good as He gets, and He's better than anyone can comprehend.
==I don't care what your personal belief system is so long as you are a decent human being…==
According to whose standard?
==…do right by others…==
Who gets to decide what's "right"? After all, what's "right" changes by the minute and according to the person, depending on his mood.
Unmanly, degenerate, whatever… just like an "honor" killing has nothing to do with honor and everything to do with putting your own reputation ahead of the lives of the people you're supposed to care for and protect. Cowards… who would rather kill a wife or daughter or sister than face public disapproval.
It's not confusing to call people who kill innocents "coward" when they're trying to set themselves up as heroes. It's a direct counter-attack. And it's pretty dang ignorant, or self-centered, to think that it's more important to correct the not-quite-accurate use of the word coward when doing so supports and advances the "courageous hero" and his cause.
By all means… use the other "better" words, too. But sometimes there have been other things that really were more important than public disagreement with George Bush. Sometimes there were things that were more important than making sure all your friends think well of you while sacrificing what you ought to have been caring for and protecting.
It should be noted that Maher did not say those terrorists had "courage." He merely noted that they were not cowards–and certainly being willing to die for your beliefs is not the mark of a coward. It was an instance of overreaching Conservative Political Correctness that Maher had his show taken away for merely acknowledging that truth. Good god, I'm surprised this blogger was willing to drench up this issue again.
And it bears repeating–this blogger misinterpreted a joke at Michael Jackson's expense as "praise" for Michael Jackson. bighollywood will let any idiot write for them so long as they claim to be conservative.
There is one major religion that hates homsexuals-Islam. The Koran is very clear on that position.
Instead of the robes, I can see them wearing those Snuggies, since they keep the thermostat so low.
Reality is what it is. God is, or He isn't. Full stop.
For the rest, it is relative to your frame of reference. Was "god" created by people who recognized elements of natural law and personified them as all of the various gods and philosophies? Or did God create the world, including natural law, which people recognized even if they didn't receive the revelation of God? At what point is it necessary to say to Christians, not that they use a different frame of reference, but that their frame of reference is wrong? What is that important? If you don't believe in God, then why do you care that someone has a Christian frame of reference instead of a Buddhist one?
Either way a person can come to the conclusion that "these things are true".
It doesn't take the "Christian" version of anything to say that it's harmful to view a category of human as unimportant and disposable, that stealing is wrong, or murder, or adultery; that it's unhealthy to covet and harmful to subvert; that a community is stronger if basic family units are stable.
I'm one of 6, the youngest being Down's and technically categorized as "profoundly retarded." Hearing the word "retard" or "tard" has NEVER bothered any of us or my parents. In fact, we all had many insults for each other, as siblings usually do, and the youngest wasn't spared simply because he was Down's.
This reminds me of something G.K. Chesterton believed… that basically, no matter what anyone subscribes to as truth, whether it is in science or in God, your starting point has to be a given, an assumption, which is essentially an act of faith. He stated that "the ultimate paradox…[is] that the very things we cannot comprehend are the things we have to take for granted".
Everytime I see that ad, the maroon ones always make me think, "oh look, the brotherhood took the day off to go see a football game."
yet this is the religion which the left seemingly champions! or at least puts in reverence over Christians and Jews. Try mentioning JESUS at a cocktail party some time..Okay, now mention MOHAMMED and see the different reaction! 'How erudite, HOW big minded, HOW marvelous'…but…Jesus…THUNK…"WHO? You're KIDDING, right?" Which is FINE..nobody needs to talk about Jesus! but….the religion which would whack a head off for not being THEIR religion (or because one's GAY!?)is so acceptable somehow.
aharris, careful, you're ruining it for the libs. "Ixnay" on the "olerancetay"… we're supposed to be ultraintolerant remember?
Last night was great! It was the most fun I have had in years watching the Oscars. Thanks to everyone who posted!
The only Emmy Bill Maher worships is some woman named Emmy who looks like her name should be Oscar.
"Right" actually doesn't change at all.
It's not a matter of deciding what is right. It's a matter of discovering what is right.
Stealing, for example, is not wrong because someone got to "decide" that stealing is wrong. It's wrong because of what it does to the social structure and stability of a community. Morality is not subjective, it's objective.
Small victory for a small mind. I now understand.
Who is this "we" paleface?
Agreed. It was fun both above deck and down in the dark recesses of the open thread…
Touche
Come on man! He was simply pissed he didn't get the award so he had to justify his not getting it because the academy has a secret cabal of religious zealots. Don't you get the humour of what he said? He basically told all of them the award is not voted for it's content, it's given to whom they are least afraid of.
The fact that Maher's film wasn't nominated is concrete proof that there IS a God.
You're not alone Lon…right there with you. The Bill Maher's of the world disgust me…the antagonistic, self-indulgent smugness he projects…not to sound like 60's era hippie…but live and let live. Just know that if you come knockin' on my door, you better know your stuff.
You must be logged in to post a comment.