Bill Maher has (almost) never found a famous man accused of misconduct that he hasn’t wanted to defend. The late-night comic, who once warned that the #MeToo Movement was creating a “police state” for sex, has defended MSNBC’s Chris Matthews after he was accused of sexual harassment (and mocked his accuser for good measure); has defended pal Al Franken, who was accused of nonconsensual touching and kissing; has defended former Trump crony Corey Lewandowski after he was caught on tape shoving a reporter; has repeatedly smeared Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade, whose lawyer later accused him of “recycling old rape myths”; and once argued that married men sexually harass women “because they have shitty sex lives.” There are many more examples, of course; that’s just a taster.
Which brings us to Friday night’s Real Time with Bill Maher, where the political satirist took it upon himself to defend Hollywood actor Armie Hammer, who stands accused of emotional and physical abuse by a number of women. According to Maher, “feminism” may be the real culprit here.
“I think we can talk about this in relation to where feminism is, because apparently, Armie Hammer has a predilection to tell his dates he wants to ‘eat’ them. And who wouldn’t want to be eaten by Armie Hammer? Come on,” Maher began. When one woman cheered in the audience, Maher proclaimed, “Exactly my point. Thank you—one honest woman.”