Bill Maher says he has a Kanye West interview that no one will ever see
Maher called West a "very charming antisemite" and said he would never air the episode so as not to contribute to spreading his views
Aux News Bill Maher
In a real “the worst person you know made a really great point” moment, Bill Maher is taking a stand and de-platforming Kanye West—even as certain other people with the power to do so (hint, hint: he’s also antisemitic) keep letting the disgraced rapper come crawling back. In a recent episode of TMZ Investigates, Maher revealed that he had conducted a two-hour interview with West for his “Club Random” podcast, but would never air the episode due to his guest’s virulent anti-Jewish rhetoric.
Of course, the super random host delivered this information in the most roundabout, eyebrow-raising way possible, as is his nature. “I thought it was going to be a learning moment.” Maher shared with TMZ founder, Harry Levin. “We were here for two hours. By the way, we had an amazing, fun time. He’s a very charming antisemite.”
As very Bill Maher as it is to specifically shout out how great a time you had bro-ing out with a bad person, he was at least gesturing at a good point. “The problem, I think, is that he appeals mostly—of course he’s a rock star—to young people,” Maher continued. “They surely don’t know much about the Middle East or Jews. So the combination of Kanye out there—I feel like he was helpful for spreading the fertilizer, and I do mean fertilizer, for this idea that Israel and the Jews are the worst people in the world.”
To this, Levin suggested that “you could say the same thing about Hitler” in reference to the dictator’s horrific rhetoric opening the door for other people to voice their dormant opinions as well. “Yes, exactly,” Maher responded. “That’s why I wouldn’t air that episode, because I’m not going to contribute to this.”
West recently apologized in Hebrew to the Jewish community for his decades of antisemitic outbursts—bigotry which lost him multiple partnerships—so in a backward sense, Maher is actually helping not to undermine the rapper’s totally sincere “please forgive me and also buy my new album” tour that everyone totally wanted and totally believes. Maybe West should send Maher a thank-you note after all.