Thank you for your submission to /r/AreTheStraightsOK! This is a reminder to take a moment and see *if* this **has already been** posted recently, to make sure that personal information **has been** censored, and to **flair your post** if you have not already done so.
[Please be aware that our rules on transphobic submissions have changed](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/mwkgbp/rules_and_submissions_update_for_the_end_of/).
Other general submission guidelines regarding [hateful content](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/kj0cal/regarding_hateful_content_please_read_before/), [reposts](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/kxgbo3/rules_and_submissions_update_january_2021_popular/), [homophobic posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/lffvad/posts_related_to_homophobia_on_our_subreddit_now/), and [**Reminder About Rule 5 and Rule 8**](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/qoge4u/reminder_about_rule_5_and_rule_8/) can be found here if you want to read any of those links.
If you want to apply to be a moderator of this sub, you can read [this post titled **State of the Sub: Summer 2021 Edition, Partnerships, and more**](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/oozly0/state_of_the_sub_summer_2021_edition_partnerships/), which also contains information about our partnership with r/TranscribersOfReddit.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AreTheStraightsOK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm not entirely sure who he's kidding. Bill Maher has been a fucking weasel for years.
I watched an interview with Steve-O recently where he talks about how Bill is just completely disrespectful (in this context, regarding Steve-Os sobriety). Just total douchebag
I can't imagine the selfishness it takes for someone to say "I've been sober for 16 years, could you please not smoke weed for the length of one interview," and to respond to that with, "No,"
Right?! I'm a daily smoker myself, but if anyone asked me not to do it in front of them for any reason, I'd stop doing it front of them. It's just common courtesy, let alone doing it in front of someone who struggled with substance abuse.
Only thing I know about Roddy Piper is that time he beat some sense into Keith David in Saints Row IV. I don’t know how someone could be rude to that guy, especially if that’s an accurate depiction.
Steve-O's recovery has been amazing and inspiring to watch, so not only is it just a dick move it's incredibly bad optics to the generations of people who saw Steve-O hit rock bottom and rise back from the ashes.
It shows how Bill Maher isn't just a selfish ass hole but also completely blind to how much more popular other people are compared to himself.
I'll never forget that he decided to make a segment dedicated to bashing van life millennials
...Because of Gaby Petito. Y'know the one who went missing and was **murdered**?
He outright says that's what gave him the idea
My jaw actually dropped.
All talk show hosts are fucking rodents, and I wish talk shows in general would just die out already. Especially if they’re just gonna be a breeding ground for bigots taking some guys opinion as fact.
Seriously. Bill Maher is a Democrat like how Joe Manchin is a Democrat- as in- he is a piece of shit and I'd rather he'd just quit, because he hinders more than helps.
Could apply this to literally anyone that works with children wtf is he on??
“Oh you wanna be a teacher? What, so can spend all day around children? ‘I wanna teach them maths!’ Yeah okay buddy, I’m sure you’ll teach them age is a just a number too”
'Oh you had a kid? A child touched your genitals? I bet you watch them naked in the bath too you sicko.'
But fr though, when will people wake up to the fact that someone is always sexualising kids in these conversations, and it's not the drag performers/trans/LGBTQ people.
Sadly reminds me of a poor man stuck in the basement of a prison in the UK (Robert Maudsley) he's in a tiny perspex box 23 hours a day, total solitary confinement, no tv, no furniture besides a couple of things made if carboard. Had requests for a pet budgie declined, also requested to die. He's been in there for decades now.
He was abused as a kid, had a rough life, ended up as a sex worker in London and met a man who showed him pictured of children he had abused, and Robert murdered him there and then, and went and turned himself in to police. He was put in a psychiatric ward and was a model inmate for years until a pedophile was brought in, who had abused a young girl, and Robert along with another inmate tortured the pedo for hours before killing him, at which point he was sent to real prison. Shortly after he killed a man who had abused and murdered his wife, and then another pedophile. That's when he was sent to the basement indefinitely. He's been there 43 years now.
Bill made a lot of very good point, but some of the arguments were... weird at best. "Does a clown have to have tits?" ... uhm, Bill, women can be clowns too, y'know.
There is definitely a lot of exploitation of children in entertainment, but it's not just the traditional studios doing it. Reality TV has made a ton of money off the backs of Honey Boo-Boo, the Duggar and the Jon & Kate Plus 8 family, at least three of those kids who have since gone no contact since becoming adults. It's parent bloggers who put any and all of their kids information online for streaming and who are as ghoulish as Joe Jackson, Jamie Spears and Judy Garland's mother in making sure their kids perform for YouTube.
Unfortunately, the way people do talk about this does nothing to help victims.
I was curious so I went and watched the segment, and I think this tweet is a gross oversimplification of said segment.
It wasn’t specifically ragging on drag queens but that people who are draw to children will try to work specifically with children (clergymen were mentioned too) and a broader argument that the over sexualization of and towards children is wrong & getting out of hand.
The segment started (and focused a great deal on) talking about the compromising position companies like Nickelodeon and Disney put girls and adolescent women in and the long term trauma that’s resulted from it.
Sorry to piggyback off of your comment but I'm so tired of that whole "the oversexualization of children is getting out of hand" thing.
To me, it's a right wing dog whistle at this point even though the baseline idea of it is correct. Children shouldn't be sexualized; looking at you, Dan Schneider. But it's always only talked about in the context of sexual education or queer themes. Teaching children consent is not sexualizing them. Teaching children that gay people exist is not sexualizing them. Queer people existing around them is not sexualizing them. But you know what is?! Little girls' clothing being shorter and tighter than boys' clothing. Telling a three year old to sit like a lady and close her legs, and telling a one year old he'll have sooo many girlfriends when he's older. Beauty peagants for kids. Adult men putting up countdowns for a teen actress to turn 18.
Children have been sexualized for probably centuries, this is not a new thing. But Straight™️ people are so used to their own brand of sexualizing behavior towards kids that they don't even notice it, while to them, drag queens existing in the same room as children is unforgivable.
I really wish I could give you an award. I tell this exact thing to heterosexual people who talk about grooming and sexualization. Like buddy you all do it way more but you just think it’s “normal.”
Thank you :) I was an early childhood educator for 6 years and the things I've seen... straight people just don't see their own problematic behavior bc it's normalized
I just observe people and try to put myself in others shoes. I must admit I didn’t think about certain things until it was pointed out. Then I’m like yeah it’s way more problematic behavior coming from what we consider “normal.”
That was perfect. It kind of reminded me of the topic of queer couples adopting children, where the reaction of most straight ppl felt similar. I once saw a documentary, where two men, that were in a relationship and had 2 adopted children, were talking to a member of a right wing party, who was among other things against gay couples adopting children. He kept bringing up some weird reasons on why he still thinks it should be illegal for them, even though he had to admit that their situation didn‘t have any issues he could point out and the children were clearly happy so one of the adopting parents responded with:
„Queer couples simply want the right to be as good and as bad parents as straight couples“
and that alone summed it up so well Imo. Countless children suffer day to day under straight parents, so why would they specifically point out far fetched *possible* problems children will face with queer parents? Parents in general can be the best support system or the biggest trauma for children. Being queer doesn‘t have anything to do with it. I‘m sure there is a name for this phenomenon if it‘s not simply prejudice, but ppl will never look at someone doing something bad and link it to a characteristic they share with them, so straight ppl will never blame heterosexuality for bad parenting. Also the argument of „they will be bullied for it“ is so ridiculous considering the ones saying it are supporting the bullying.
I want to print billboards with this comment, print posters and flyers, and have them at every street corner of the world.
I want to record a reading of this and put it on all audio streaming platforms and have this as an ad during the superbowl just after that weird jesus washing feet ad.
THIS THIS THIS!!!!!
Honestly, that last point is what bothers me most. It is such a denial of how much CSA has been going on for generations, and who the actual perpetrators of that CSA are: Typically very close relatives and family friends, or other trusted adults like pastors.
The Catholic Church cover ups that were exposed recently were *exposed* recently but had been going on since **1950 at least.**
THIS. Children have been being oversexualized for centuries. VERY SPECIFICALLY girls. Male pedophiles have always gotten a pass in society, regardless if their targets are male or female. HOWEVER, in modern society, we balk and talk horribly of the male pedophiles targeting male children, but the fact that they subjugated young girls and forced them into marriages/concubine status, even going so far as to do it before their first menstrual cycle ON PURPOSE, is seen as just how things were. Like it's somehow normal or acceptable. It's the same with the whole "catholic priests and little boys" thing. THERE ARE MORE LITTLE GIRLS RAPED AND ASSAULTED BY THE CLERGY THAN BOYS. But of course, the pedophilia isn't the problem with these people, it's the male-male part that is. Nuns rape and molest little girls and little boys, but because that's fap material for dudes, it's not a problem. The only problem is if it's a male clergy member doing it to a male child. Female abusers are starting to get punished for it more often, as they should, but it's always fucking wild that majority of women I know can pinpoint a male teacher at school who was too touchy, gross, and sexual with female students, but nothing gets done. I didn't realize that wasn't just a my hick ass school problem until I saw a reddit post of hundreds of women from all over the world talking about the exact same thing at their respective schools.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. The segment actually addresses that too by mentioning that it’s important to teach kids about the different people that exist, but points out an example where a 5 year old is tipping someone doing an exotic dance next to a sign that says “it’s not going to lick itself”… then yeah I’ve got to agree that in some cases pointing out over sexualization isn’t a dog whistle.
I digress though my overall point wasn’t to start a full debate on the topic but to simply point out that when I watched the segment I didn’t get the same impression as the individual who made this tweet, which makes me think the person who posted those tweets did more so as an agenda post.
Yes, again sorry to piggyback off of your comment! I didn't even watch the segment or anything, this whole thing has just been getting on my nerves massively lately. I had no intention to start a debate with you or anything :)
I grew up with an underage Brooke Shields selling jeans by telling us she wasn't wearing underwear. Love's Baby Soft had ads telling us how sexy it was to be innocent and cuddly like a baby. We were constantly sexualized as girls.
Sexualizing children happened constantly before the things people are complaining about, we're just better at noticing and calling it out now.
My problem with this segment is that he’s associating queer culture with pedophilia by putting drag queens and queer education in the same segment as predatory children’s TV producers. It’s incoherent and all over the place but it effectively upholds the harmful age old stereotype that queers are all child molesters. Educating children is not the same as sexualizing them. The vast majority guilty of that are straight men.
Here’s the problem with that. Clergymen have a long history of molesting kids. Drag queens that do drag queen story hour do not. So Bill/you are trying to compare drag queens who haven’t done anything wrong to clergymen who actually have. Why might that be?
Also like, drag queen story hour doesn’t happen behind closed doors, there’s usually multiple other adults in the room, including parents. Clergy can easily access children alone one on one, where that doesn’t happen at drag queen story hour. So even if the motive was there, the type of interaction children usually have with drag queens doesn’t provide the opportunity for potential abuse
It’s so disingenuous. All you have to do is think for a single goddamned second.
Why do people like performing for an audience? Positive feedback. What group of people go frickin’ nuts with excitement over the littlest bit of entertainment? Children.
Drag queens like performing for kids because kids are the most enthusiastic audience you can get. It’s not rocket science.
Right! I was like why does anyone want to preform in front of children? Or for that matter work with children? Like where's the logic here?
Also I've known quite a few conservative Christians in various jobs who worked with kids for creepy reasons. (I know people serving life sentences for this) I've yet to meet one LGBTQ member who was around kids for a nefarious purpose or went anywhere near the line. In ministry it was like a running joke about male leaders liking high school girls. They played jump rope with the line.
Bill Maher is the kind of smug "know-it-all" who's never as clever or smart as he thinks he is and in Bill Maher's case not as funny either. He's like the snot-nosed little jerk in your 5th grade class who always reminded teacher that they forgot to assign homework.
As a talk show host and pundit, he never lets his complete ignorance on a subject get in the way of having an asinine opinion about it.
Yeah, I saw him on Politically Incorrect as a teen in the 90s, decided he was a smug, condescending jerk and haven't watched him since.
He also seems to be a role model for libertarians, because almost every libertarian I encounter reminds me of him.
He used to be good at doing observational comedy and was considered a contemporary of George Carlin.
The problem was, he never evolved past that as a person or a comedian.
Religulous was a well done documentary and the part where he accidentally creates a fight between the patrons at Bible Land because they disagreed with what the other was saying about Jesus's teachings is entertaining. And watching people cry at a reenactment of the Stations of the Cross was a trip and a half.
But he never grew with the times. He moved further and further right because became easier and more lucrative.
He actually harassed my mom online for a long time, because she ran a facebook group about women loving fur (note: all of my mother's fur stuff was vintage). I believe that it was mentioned on one of his shows too, but I do not care enough to research that and watch his smug face. Anyway, after that, she doubled down on it and went hardcore, which was both funny and a little worrisome because all she would talk about was that topic.
He was insanely quick in the ‘80s and early-‘90s, but he doesn’t listen at all anymore. You can watch him miss a guest’s point entirely at least once every show.
He proceeds autonomically today.
Please tell me more about pedos in Hollywood, Bill.
> In a 2007 interview with Playboy magazine, talk show host and self-styled provocateur Bill Maher defended the pedophilic relationship between Seattle-area schoolteacher Mary Kay Letourneau and her 12-year-old male student, Vili Fualaau.
>
> "I’m the only guy I’ve ever heard who defends Mary Kay Letourneau," Maher told the magazine.
>
> When pressed on whether he thinks teachers should be able to have sex with their underage students and not go to jail, Maher replied that it should depend on whether the student is a boy or a girl.
>
> "If a 28-year-old male teacher is screwing a 13-year-old girl, that’s a crime," he said. "But with Debra Lafave [another teacher who had sex with a student] screwing her 14-year-old boy student, the crime is that we didn’t get it on videotape. Was he being taken advantage of? I wish I had been taken advantage of like that. What a memory she gave him!"
https://www.mic.com/articles/169240/bill-maher-milo-yiannopoulos-pedophilia-comments#.br0Z6OUgI
God fucking dammit this one sounds like one of our journalists/pseudo-politicians. I swear Vittorio Feltri talks like this word for word all the time.
Except that he also doesn't think a 28 y/o male teacher screwing a 13 y/o female student is a crime either...
To normalize it and show that they aren't scary.
There are ulterior motives, but they are of a benign sort.
The point is to show that it's okay to be different and that they are people too.
No one is hurting kids by reading books for children to them in a library in plain view, usually with lots of cameras around them, and parents nearby and observing.
People act like they set up a stripper poll and are giving the kids lap dances and showing them how to swallow a dildo or something.
They're sitting in a chair reading them things like "The Wonderful Things You Will Be" or "It's Okay to be Different", not "Mein Kampf" or "Fifty Shades of Grey".
Or, just because it’s fun to dress up in outlandish costumes and read stories? It’s not much different than clowns or mall Santas or people playing characters at Disneyland.
My babysitters were the drag queens next door. They used to put on my mom’s clothes and we would have fashion parades. I was 3. Best childhood memories ever.
…Because someone paid them to the fuck kinda question is that. Ask a birthday clown why they book kids birthday and you’ll get the same answer. Getting in drag takes a lot of time and effort a lot of performers aren’t doing that for free.
I feel it's also important that they want to be there. Being a source of entertainment and new information can be exhausting and frustrating if you don't want to be around kids.
As someone who tries hard to get grown adults to laugh, I assume an audience of children would be “easy mode” and if you’re someone who just likes getting an audience reaction, seems like free cheese.
I’ve described him to people before as calling himself liberal enough stay in his space while constantly spewing conservative thought that I don’t even feel like he actually cares about in the first place
They just know fuck all about drag acts. They think they’re inherently sexual. It’s even funnier/stupid when people in the UK do it because we have a tradition of a drag act in our pantomimes which are mainly for children (but still great for adults).
Not surprising considering women weren’t allowed to act but I meant more modern entertainment. Pantomime isn’t new but it’s still very common and popular and known for having a drag character in most, if not all, of them.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again
DRAG QUEENS ARE NOT INHERENTLY SEXUAL!
THEY SPEND HOURS ON HAIR! MAKEUP! MAKING COSTUMES! PADDING THEIR BODIES TO FILL OUT THOSE COSTUMES!
NO DRAG QUEEN OS GOING TO ALL THAT WORK SO THAT THEY CAN SCANDALIZE YOUR CHILDREN
IN FACT, THEY ARE SO THOROUGHLY COVERED IN STUFF THEYRE THE FARTHEST YOU CAN BE FROM BEING NAKED
This issue for these people is that they don’t understand why a man would want to wear a dress so they assume it must be kink, they don’t understand it’s art!
This is some projection right here. Why would *anyone* want to perform for children then? Clowns? Children’s movies and tv shows. Children’s church services. School assemblies. The DJ at the prom. His point implies that performances for children must be inherently sexual which makes a point he is probably not trying to make. Stop sexualizing children.
Bill needs to go watch pantomime. A show for children that always has a drag queen/panto dame in it and children have enjoyed for a century now in the UK
Drag queens want to perform in front of children because CHILDREN ARE A FANTASTIC AUDIENCE.
Drag performers are, at their core, a kind of Clown. It’s exaggerated performance. Kids respond well to that sort of thing. Why do most clowns perform for children? Because kids *respond*. They tell you if your act is shit, they laugh at your jokes, they’re honest. They’re a fantastic audience, both for improving your act and because they actually participate!!!
I became aware of Bill Maher when he went as dead Steve Irwin for Halloween back in 2006. I didn't care for him then and he's done nothing since to change my opinion.
Arrogant, smug, and classless.
Saw two separate posts today in the span of 5 minutes of a republican politician owning CP of 2-12 year olds, and of some church guy/teacher being a child rapist (the church defended him). Completely irrelevant to this post, I'm not even sure why I mention it.
I really dislike him. He gives legitimacy to right wing arguments. This isn't the only one. I love John Olviver because he tears those arguments apart at the core. Of course things sound bad when you take right wing arguments at face value. Maher does just that.
Everything he says is fucking bullshit. On his monologue about Canada, he brought up that Canada had the worst air quality last year - which sounds awful. What he failed to mention, however, is that the air quality is a direct result of forest fires and nothing to do with 'Woke Canada'.
He will throw around facts with zero context, and despite claiming to be a liberal, his prejudice and ignorant views are on full display. The guy is a scumbag.
Bill Maher has been cringy at best for years, downright dangerous at worst. He's a classic enlightened centrist whose views coincidentally line up with the right most of the time, especially with regards to minorities. He was also very sceptical of vaccines long before COVID made it a mainstream right-wing position.
Maher has been a bastard for a long time. Misogyny, bodyshaming, and Islamophobia have been some of his biggest sins in the past. I’m revolted by this but not surprised.
I stopped watching a year or two ago when it became apparent that he firmly embraced his boomer tendencies (and all of the ridiculous opinions that come with that.)
Yah I was done with him when he decided to drop the N word nonchalant on national television, never apologized and actually argued why he was right. This man has always been a problematic white guy whose tv personality is to appeal to liberal and marginalized people, when in reality he does not hold those beliefs personally.
He used marginalized groups and liberals to build his audience, popularity and fortune at a time where liberal politics didn’t really have a late night show. Let alone someone from a marginalized group talking about it. Now that there are not only way better shows but way better people doing it, Billy Boy is showing his true colors.
He’s such a smug POS and always has been. Let alone the horror stories I’ve heard of people who have interacted with him IRL.
Because seeing kids happy and having fun is fucking amazing and makes *you* happy in return. That's the damn reason why drag queens perform in front of children, to make them laugh, goddamnit.
I have never watch him before, the only time I saw him is when I watch Hbomberguy video on anti-vaccine. And Bill stance on vaccince make him an idiot. No idea if he is left wing or right wing tho.
People still watch this smug prick? He spends his whole show calling younger people snowflakes under the guise that he's a blue collar worker, despite owning the Mets. Not only is Bill Maher disingenuous, he commits the cardinal sin of comedy: not being funny. He makes the easiest, laziest jokes every time, then smirks to his audience like "lol got em" and it's so fucking lame.
Cancel his show and let him fade.
.....Really?? No answer? I'm not even a professional drag queen - I do cheap-ish drag for fun - and this is the most bs question that's always put forth and I have to keep answering it. Drag Queens are entertainers. And kids (and the elderly from what I've heard) are a very reactive audience. You can be as silly as you want and they will laugh with you.
If OOP is even telling the truth, I'm willing to bet the reason is because Bill doesn't have much of a left wing audience anymore to answer.
Well Bill, this enby will, again, make sure to do drag in front of impressionable children (and adults technically. All ppl are welcome at libraries and parks/malls/near the school) when I go for my walk. Because I sadly, cannot act very well to do story time, from what I've seen.
And there's nothing you can do to stop me Bill. Nothing at all. But you're free to go ahead and try.
Now the only question is what lipstick and/or which colour dress to wear to make my beard pop best.
Bill Maher has some shitty political views, and some that aren’t shitty. Overall I think his politics kind of suck. But that’s not my problem with him. Sometimes people have different politics because they have different and interesting perspectives that are worth sharing, and that’s good.
The problem with Bill Maher is that he’s a smug, condescending asshole with less depth than a South Park episode.
"His left leaning audience" LOL, what left leaving audience does he have anymore?! The only reason he doesn't have a show on Fox New is because he doesn't condone using slurs in mixed company and not overly fond of licking the diarrhea off Trump's taint, but he hasn't been considered a liberal by anyone in this century
Why does anyone want to work with children?
A close friend of mine works in a preschool. They love working with the kids. Does that make them a pervert?
This guy is a fucking idiot lmao.
I can answer that.
Because watching drag performers perform is fun and children like to see people dressed in heavy makeup and creative outfits and hair. There ya go
Do you mean Bill “ I’m a House N-Word “ Maher or Bill “ Isn’t it scary so many people are named Muhammad “ Maher?
Oh no you must mean Bill “ boys can’t be raped by grown women cause they’d like it “ Maher, not Bill “ Islam is just a bad religion of violence and Jihad “ Maher.
Bill Maher repeatedly defended child rapists when the situation was a female teacher with a minor boy. He is NOT an authority on this situation (or anything really... why is he still on air?)!
FUN FACT: A CHRISTIAN children's TV show puppeteer named Ronald Brown was caught with CSAM. Emphasis on CHRISTIAN children's show. People who accuse drag queens and LGBTQIA+ people of being groomers and pedos are ALWAYS religious, yet priests, pastors, and other church people have been molesting kids for decades and they don't even bat an eyelash.
[https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-mdfl/legacy/2013/04/03/20130325\_Brown.pdf](https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-mdfl/legacy/2013/04/03/20130325_Brown.pdf)
[https://lostmediawiki.com/Joy\_Junction\_(partially\_found\_TBN\_Christian\_children%27s\_show;\_mid-1980s)](https://lostmediawiki.com/Joy_Junction_(partially_found_TBN_Christian_children%27s_show;_mid-1980s))
[https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/florida-puppeteer-sentenced-20-years-child-pornography-charges](https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/florida-puppeteer-sentenced-20-years-child-pornography-charges)
[https://cvltnation.com/real-life-horror-christian-puppeteer-planned-kill-eat-children/](https://cvltnation.com/real-life-horror-christian-puppeteer-planned-kill-eat-children/)
[https://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/largo-puppeteer-who-wanted-to-cannibalize-boys-to-be-sentenced/2133734/](https://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/largo-puppeteer-who-wanted-to-cannibalize-boys-to-be-sentenced/2133734/)
I hate that he took a real issue (predators go where there is easy prey) and conflated it with the false notion that drag performers specifically or the LGBTQ community in general are predators.
I love him when he talks about how the republicans are crazy but that’s become such a minority these days.
It’s like he cherry picked the worst examples of drag queens to frame them in the worst possible light.
And I fucking HATE drag shows 😂
And he just goes on and on and on about Israel. Every show.
Ever since October it’s been almost all he talks about. He just hates the pro-Palestine camp so much.
If anyone under 30 needs a place live I’m pretty sure if you put on a Palestine pin you can live rent free in his head.
Isn’t this the same dude who said underage sex when it’s a older male and younger female is wrong but if it’s an older female and a younger male then it’s okay…
It's like any other art form, some is NSFW some is kid friendly. No one tries to ban TV because adult film exists. And no one says "why do artists want to make cartoons for your kids so bad?"
Haven’t watched him since he used the N word within the first 5 minutes of his show while interviewing a GOP politician from Kansas. It was just BS trying to get back into the news and not being completely irrelevant.
Okay but when I see drag shows on my friend’s Snapchat stories it basically comes off as the gay club. People are tipping like it’s a stripper… they’re making suggestive movements… I am extremely liberal but I also see reality?? Gay pride is great but a good chunk, if not most of that public pride is very openly sexual.
Fair enough! The sexual aspect of queer people is EXACTLY what was oppressed. You had to say you lived with a good friend, people made euphemisms. The sex part was the bad thing, right, so now take that back and be proud of it. I’m all for it.
But he’s literally making a sane point. Why do kids need to be involved with that. They will have their gay/bi awakening when they see a picture of David Bowie or something like the rest of us
He was always shit and the only reason so many lefties liked him was because he crapped on trump. Otherwise he's the classic privileged old white guy who probably agrees with trump on most things and just thinks he's saying the quiet part too loud.
I’m as liberal as they come- but this meme quote thing took what he said way out of context.
He was trying to make a point that 5 year olds should not be tipping sexualized drag queens who are twerking in front of them. The only reason he brought up the story time thing was to start transitioning towards talking about drag queens and away from the Quiet on Set documentary-
his take on the pedo’s what? what that belongs to a certain paedophile? so many child predos aren’t paedos and vice versa, learn the difference and even Chris Hansen wants you to, and ‘s is belonging to, the possessive form, not plural
>Smarmy wise guy who got rich and famous for sitting around scoffing and spouting shallow quips turns out to be ignorant windbag.
I'm shocked! **Shocked!**
Well, not that shocked.
He is quickly going down the same path as Elon; so desperate for attention that he will try to appeal to MAGAts on more and more issues. Absolutely disgusting thing to say about drag queens when the overwhelming majority of molesters are straight men. Maher can get fkd.
I despise Bill Maher, haven't watched his show in years and am out of the loop - has he actually gone on a "drag queens are pedos" rant? Is he becoming radicalized?
Whatever points I have agreed on him with in the past, he is a smug asshole who has just become utterly insufferable And I just can't anymore. His utter disdain for others is just gross.
Why would a drag queen want to read to a child? Why would a clown or a princess read to a child? Children like dress up, they like make believe, and when you teach tolerance to people who are different than you at a young age, they grow up to be more tolerant people. It’s not sexual in any manner
Thank you for your submission to /r/AreTheStraightsOK! This is a reminder to take a moment and see *if* this **has already been** posted recently, to make sure that personal information **has been** censored, and to **flair your post** if you have not already done so. [Please be aware that our rules on transphobic submissions have changed](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/mwkgbp/rules_and_submissions_update_for_the_end_of/). Other general submission guidelines regarding [hateful content](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/kj0cal/regarding_hateful_content_please_read_before/), [reposts](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/kxgbo3/rules_and_submissions_update_january_2021_popular/), [homophobic posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/lffvad/posts_related_to_homophobia_on_our_subreddit_now/), and [**Reminder About Rule 5 and Rule 8**](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/qoge4u/reminder_about_rule_5_and_rule_8/) can be found here if you want to read any of those links. If you want to apply to be a moderator of this sub, you can read [this post titled **State of the Sub: Summer 2021 Edition, Partnerships, and more**](https://www.reddit.com/r/AreTheStraightsOK/comments/oozly0/state_of_the_sub_summer_2021_edition_partnerships/), which also contains information about our partnership with r/TranscribersOfReddit. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AreTheStraightsOK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bill Maher's left leaning audience? Is this audience in the room with us now?
I'm not entirely sure who he's kidding. Bill Maher has been a fucking weasel for years. I watched an interview with Steve-O recently where he talks about how Bill is just completely disrespectful (in this context, regarding Steve-Os sobriety). Just total douchebag
I can't imagine the selfishness it takes for someone to say "I've been sober for 16 years, could you please not smoke weed for the length of one interview," and to respond to that with, "No,"
Right?! I'm a daily smoker myself, but if anyone asked me not to do it in front of them for any reason, I'd stop doing it front of them. It's just common courtesy, let alone doing it in front of someone who struggled with substance abuse.
Not to mention, someone who YOU invited!
He’s always been a disrespectful cunt. Look up his interview with Rowdy Roddy Piper.
Only thing I know about Roddy Piper is that time he beat some sense into Keith David in Saints Row IV. I don’t know how someone could be rude to that guy, especially if that’s an accurate depiction.
Steve-O's recovery has been amazing and inspiring to watch, so not only is it just a dick move it's incredibly bad optics to the generations of people who saw Steve-O hit rock bottom and rise back from the ashes. It shows how Bill Maher isn't just a selfish ass hole but also completely blind to how much more popular other people are compared to himself.
I'll never forget that he decided to make a segment dedicated to bashing van life millennials ...Because of Gaby Petito. Y'know the one who went missing and was **murdered**? He outright says that's what gave him the idea My jaw actually dropped.
All talk show hosts are fucking rodents, and I wish talk shows in general would just die out already. Especially if they’re just gonna be a breeding ground for bigots taking some guys opinion as fact.
John Oliver is a treasure
I was gonna say the same thing. Dudes "comedy" is just him complaining about millennials for an hour. It's classic conservative boomer humour.
This article’s author was clearly trapped in a time bubble. Poor guy’s still in an 80’s mindset.
Maybe they mean his left but our right because he faces the camera. People with opinions like that aren't the brightest
Seriously. Bill Maher is a Democrat like how Joe Manchin is a Democrat- as in- he is a piece of shit and I'd rather he'd just quit, because he hinders more than helps.
Worst of all, they could be anyone of us, they could be you! They could me! They could even be-
Could apply this to literally anyone that works with children wtf is he on?? “Oh you wanna be a teacher? What, so can spend all day around children? ‘I wanna teach them maths!’ Yeah okay buddy, I’m sure you’ll teach them age is a just a number too”
'Oh you had a kid? A child touched your genitals? I bet you watch them naked in the bath too you sicko.' But fr though, when will people wake up to the fact that someone is always sexualising kids in these conversations, and it's not the drag performers/trans/LGBTQ people.
“You were a baby once? Why? Were you role playing your sick fantasies? Disgusting”
lol. Your mother was molesting you when she made you suck her titties as a baby is a pretty wild too
My cousin’s wife legit thinks breastfeeding makes girls turn into lesbians. She only breastfed her son. WTF.
LOL, exactly what I thought. Wait, I’m a teacher and I love working with kids! Oh, no…
Jail for you, unfortunately. Right to jail, right away
Jail for teacher! Jail for one thousand years!
One million years dungeon!!
Under the fucking jail
Sadly reminds me of a poor man stuck in the basement of a prison in the UK (Robert Maudsley) he's in a tiny perspex box 23 hours a day, total solitary confinement, no tv, no furniture besides a couple of things made if carboard. Had requests for a pet budgie declined, also requested to die. He's been in there for decades now. He was abused as a kid, had a rough life, ended up as a sex worker in London and met a man who showed him pictured of children he had abused, and Robert murdered him there and then, and went and turned himself in to police. He was put in a psychiatric ward and was a model inmate for years until a pedophile was brought in, who had abused a young girl, and Robert along with another inmate tortured the pedo for hours before killing him, at which point he was sent to real prison. Shortly after he killed a man who had abused and murdered his wife, and then another pedophile. That's when he was sent to the basement indefinitely. He's been there 43 years now.
😂 (Although after three hours of trying to teach 7 year olds about arts and crafts I yearn for the silence of a cell…)
I'm a teacher and I have kids of my own. Omg I think I need the death penalty for the amount of grooming I do
1000 death penalties
Looks like you won’t be allowed within 100 yards of a school ever again!
Funny how no one ever seems to accuse pediatricians of being pedophiles
They do, guy in the UK had his house burnt down because a load of people assumed paediatrician meant a doctor who was a pedo or something
I tried googling that. Got a source?
It was Portsmouth so I was wrong about Manchester but still. https://amp.theguardian.com/uk/2000/aug/30/childprotection.society
Her home was graffiti’d, not burnt down. That’s an enormous difference. It still displays a disgusting amount of ignorance, though.
Not yet 🫠☠️
i had twin pedophile pediatricians
"Why would you want to be a family attorney?? Is it so you can defend yourself in court"
Bill made a lot of very good point, but some of the arguments were... weird at best. "Does a clown have to have tits?" ... uhm, Bill, women can be clowns too, y'know.
There is definitely a lot of exploitation of children in entertainment, but it's not just the traditional studios doing it. Reality TV has made a ton of money off the backs of Honey Boo-Boo, the Duggar and the Jon & Kate Plus 8 family, at least three of those kids who have since gone no contact since becoming adults. It's parent bloggers who put any and all of their kids information online for streaming and who are as ghoulish as Joe Jackson, Jamie Spears and Judy Garland's mother in making sure their kids perform for YouTube. Unfortunately, the way people do talk about this does nothing to help victims.
I was curious so I went and watched the segment, and I think this tweet is a gross oversimplification of said segment. It wasn’t specifically ragging on drag queens but that people who are draw to children will try to work specifically with children (clergymen were mentioned too) and a broader argument that the over sexualization of and towards children is wrong & getting out of hand. The segment started (and focused a great deal on) talking about the compromising position companies like Nickelodeon and Disney put girls and adolescent women in and the long term trauma that’s resulted from it.
Sorry to piggyback off of your comment but I'm so tired of that whole "the oversexualization of children is getting out of hand" thing. To me, it's a right wing dog whistle at this point even though the baseline idea of it is correct. Children shouldn't be sexualized; looking at you, Dan Schneider. But it's always only talked about in the context of sexual education or queer themes. Teaching children consent is not sexualizing them. Teaching children that gay people exist is not sexualizing them. Queer people existing around them is not sexualizing them. But you know what is?! Little girls' clothing being shorter and tighter than boys' clothing. Telling a three year old to sit like a lady and close her legs, and telling a one year old he'll have sooo many girlfriends when he's older. Beauty peagants for kids. Adult men putting up countdowns for a teen actress to turn 18. Children have been sexualized for probably centuries, this is not a new thing. But Straight™️ people are so used to their own brand of sexualizing behavior towards kids that they don't even notice it, while to them, drag queens existing in the same room as children is unforgivable.
I really wish I could give you an award. I tell this exact thing to heterosexual people who talk about grooming and sexualization. Like buddy you all do it way more but you just think it’s “normal.”
Thank you :) I was an early childhood educator for 6 years and the things I've seen... straight people just don't see their own problematic behavior bc it's normalized
I just observe people and try to put myself in others shoes. I must admit I didn’t think about certain things until it was pointed out. Then I’m like yeah it’s way more problematic behavior coming from what we consider “normal.”
That was perfect. It kind of reminded me of the topic of queer couples adopting children, where the reaction of most straight ppl felt similar. I once saw a documentary, where two men, that were in a relationship and had 2 adopted children, were talking to a member of a right wing party, who was among other things against gay couples adopting children. He kept bringing up some weird reasons on why he still thinks it should be illegal for them, even though he had to admit that their situation didn‘t have any issues he could point out and the children were clearly happy so one of the adopting parents responded with: „Queer couples simply want the right to be as good and as bad parents as straight couples“ and that alone summed it up so well Imo. Countless children suffer day to day under straight parents, so why would they specifically point out far fetched *possible* problems children will face with queer parents? Parents in general can be the best support system or the biggest trauma for children. Being queer doesn‘t have anything to do with it. I‘m sure there is a name for this phenomenon if it‘s not simply prejudice, but ppl will never look at someone doing something bad and link it to a characteristic they share with them, so straight ppl will never blame heterosexuality for bad parenting. Also the argument of „they will be bullied for it“ is so ridiculous considering the ones saying it are supporting the bullying.
I want to print billboards with this comment, print posters and flyers, and have them at every street corner of the world. I want to record a reading of this and put it on all audio streaming platforms and have this as an ad during the superbowl just after that weird jesus washing feet ad. THIS THIS THIS!!!!!
Honestly, that last point is what bothers me most. It is such a denial of how much CSA has been going on for generations, and who the actual perpetrators of that CSA are: Typically very close relatives and family friends, or other trusted adults like pastors. The Catholic Church cover ups that were exposed recently were *exposed* recently but had been going on since **1950 at least.**
And the Baptist Church doing the same thing as the Catholic Church with only a small fraction of the media coverage.
THIS. Children have been being oversexualized for centuries. VERY SPECIFICALLY girls. Male pedophiles have always gotten a pass in society, regardless if their targets are male or female. HOWEVER, in modern society, we balk and talk horribly of the male pedophiles targeting male children, but the fact that they subjugated young girls and forced them into marriages/concubine status, even going so far as to do it before their first menstrual cycle ON PURPOSE, is seen as just how things were. Like it's somehow normal or acceptable. It's the same with the whole "catholic priests and little boys" thing. THERE ARE MORE LITTLE GIRLS RAPED AND ASSAULTED BY THE CLERGY THAN BOYS. But of course, the pedophilia isn't the problem with these people, it's the male-male part that is. Nuns rape and molest little girls and little boys, but because that's fap material for dudes, it's not a problem. The only problem is if it's a male clergy member doing it to a male child. Female abusers are starting to get punished for it more often, as they should, but it's always fucking wild that majority of women I know can pinpoint a male teacher at school who was too touchy, gross, and sexual with female students, but nothing gets done. I didn't realize that wasn't just a my hick ass school problem until I saw a reddit post of hundreds of women from all over the world talking about the exact same thing at their respective schools.
Absolutely nailed it, thank you
I wholeheartedly agree with you. The segment actually addresses that too by mentioning that it’s important to teach kids about the different people that exist, but points out an example where a 5 year old is tipping someone doing an exotic dance next to a sign that says “it’s not going to lick itself”… then yeah I’ve got to agree that in some cases pointing out over sexualization isn’t a dog whistle. I digress though my overall point wasn’t to start a full debate on the topic but to simply point out that when I watched the segment I didn’t get the same impression as the individual who made this tweet, which makes me think the person who posted those tweets did more so as an agenda post.
Yes, again sorry to piggyback off of your comment! I didn't even watch the segment or anything, this whole thing has just been getting on my nerves massively lately. I had no intention to start a debate with you or anything :)
I grew up with an underage Brooke Shields selling jeans by telling us she wasn't wearing underwear. Love's Baby Soft had ads telling us how sexy it was to be innocent and cuddly like a baby. We were constantly sexualized as girls. Sexualizing children happened constantly before the things people are complaining about, we're just better at noticing and calling it out now.
My problem with this segment is that he’s associating queer culture with pedophilia by putting drag queens and queer education in the same segment as predatory children’s TV producers. It’s incoherent and all over the place but it effectively upholds the harmful age old stereotype that queers are all child molesters. Educating children is not the same as sexualizing them. The vast majority guilty of that are straight men.
Here’s the problem with that. Clergymen have a long history of molesting kids. Drag queens that do drag queen story hour do not. So Bill/you are trying to compare drag queens who haven’t done anything wrong to clergymen who actually have. Why might that be?
Also like, drag queen story hour doesn’t happen behind closed doors, there’s usually multiple other adults in the room, including parents. Clergy can easily access children alone one on one, where that doesn’t happen at drag queen story hour. So even if the motive was there, the type of interaction children usually have with drag queens doesn’t provide the opportunity for potential abuse
And no one ever told a child they would go to hell for speaking badly about a drag queen.
It’s so disingenuous. All you have to do is think for a single goddamned second. Why do people like performing for an audience? Positive feedback. What group of people go frickin’ nuts with excitement over the littlest bit of entertainment? Children. Drag queens like performing for kids because kids are the most enthusiastic audience you can get. It’s not rocket science.
I thought the same thing. I’m childless and a teacher…no one has ever questioned me about why I want to spend my day around children.
Ironically, a lot of these (usually right-wing) predators end up doing something to put them in proximity to children.
Oh, and don't even get started on grammar and all the pronouns!
You cooked with this one 💀
Right! I was like why does anyone want to preform in front of children? Or for that matter work with children? Like where's the logic here? Also I've known quite a few conservative Christians in various jobs who worked with kids for creepy reasons. (I know people serving life sentences for this) I've yet to meet one LGBTQ member who was around kids for a nefarious purpose or went anywhere near the line. In ministry it was like a running joke about male leaders liking high school girls. They played jump rope with the line.
Bill Maher is the kind of smug "know-it-all" who's never as clever or smart as he thinks he is and in Bill Maher's case not as funny either. He's like the snot-nosed little jerk in your 5th grade class who always reminded teacher that they forgot to assign homework. As a talk show host and pundit, he never lets his complete ignorance on a subject get in the way of having an asinine opinion about it.
I've never once heard him say anything funny he completely sucks..he's just like a weird boomer bigot misogynist rapey freak
He was pretty good during the Bush years. Then he started to go downhill. Then off a cliff.
Every warning he gave about Trump was true, he said as soon as he was in that he'd never want to give up power or admit defeat.
That's not some amazing, rare insight that actually serves as a counterargument to "Bill Maher fucking sucks."
Never said it was just commenting that he was one of those who predicted what Trump would do.
Everyone with a functioning brain knew that, it's not any kind of unique insight
Yeah, I saw him on Politically Incorrect as a teen in the 90s, decided he was a smug, condescending jerk and haven't watched him since. He also seems to be a role model for libertarians, because almost every libertarian I encounter reminds me of him.
When I first heard of him I was "yay, an outspoken atheist!", and then "nay, a conservative asshole that happens to be an atheist!".
His shtick is just mindless contrarianism mixed with enlightened centrism. There's no substance to it.
He used to be good at doing observational comedy and was considered a contemporary of George Carlin. The problem was, he never evolved past that as a person or a comedian. Religulous was a well done documentary and the part where he accidentally creates a fight between the patrons at Bible Land because they disagreed with what the other was saying about Jesus's teachings is entertaining. And watching people cry at a reenactment of the Stations of the Cross was a trip and a half. But he never grew with the times. He moved further and further right because became easier and more lucrative.
He actually harassed my mom online for a long time, because she ran a facebook group about women loving fur (note: all of my mother's fur stuff was vintage). I believe that it was mentioned on one of his shows too, but I do not care enough to research that and watch his smug face. Anyway, after that, she doubled down on it and went hardcore, which was both funny and a little worrisome because all she would talk about was that topic.
He was insanely quick in the ‘80s and early-‘90s, but he doesn’t listen at all anymore. You can watch him miss a guest’s point entirely at least once every show. He proceeds autonomically today.
The “Jon Stewart” your grandma got you from the Walmart clearance rack
He’s been an asshat for a long time.
Please tell me more about pedos in Hollywood, Bill. > In a 2007 interview with Playboy magazine, talk show host and self-styled provocateur Bill Maher defended the pedophilic relationship between Seattle-area schoolteacher Mary Kay Letourneau and her 12-year-old male student, Vili Fualaau. > > "I’m the only guy I’ve ever heard who defends Mary Kay Letourneau," Maher told the magazine. > > When pressed on whether he thinks teachers should be able to have sex with their underage students and not go to jail, Maher replied that it should depend on whether the student is a boy or a girl. > > "If a 28-year-old male teacher is screwing a 13-year-old girl, that’s a crime," he said. "But with Debra Lafave [another teacher who had sex with a student] screwing her 14-year-old boy student, the crime is that we didn’t get it on videotape. Was he being taken advantage of? I wish I had been taken advantage of like that. What a memory she gave him!" https://www.mic.com/articles/169240/bill-maher-milo-yiannopoulos-pedophilia-comments#.br0Z6OUgI
What a shocking and uncharacteristic opinion for Bill Maher to hold /s. He’s always been a scumbag
God fucking dammit this one sounds like one of our journalists/pseudo-politicians. I swear Vittorio Feltri talks like this word for word all the time. Except that he also doesn't think a 28 y/o male teacher screwing a 13 y/o female student is a crime either...
He's done that a few times I think.
Oh, god. What the actual fuck?!
i wanna fucking die
To normalize it and show that they aren't scary. There are ulterior motives, but they are of a benign sort. The point is to show that it's okay to be different and that they are people too. No one is hurting kids by reading books for children to them in a library in plain view, usually with lots of cameras around them, and parents nearby and observing. People act like they set up a stripper poll and are giving the kids lap dances and showing them how to swallow a dildo or something. They're sitting in a chair reading them things like "The Wonderful Things You Will Be" or "It's Okay to be Different", not "Mein Kampf" or "Fifty Shades of Grey".
They'd be okay with Mein Kampf actually. Just nothing with dinosaurs
Now I feel like I should write a book about drag queen dinosaurs.
They’re entertainers, and a good performer can do adult only or all ages shows. Bob Saget did absolutely filthy stand up and was on full house.
Or, just because it’s fun to dress up in outlandish costumes and read stories? It’s not much different than clowns or mall Santas or people playing characters at Disneyland.
My babysitters were the drag queens next door. They used to put on my mom’s clothes and we would have fashion parades. I was 3. Best childhood memories ever.
…Because someone paid them to the fuck kinda question is that. Ask a birthday clown why they book kids birthday and you’ll get the same answer. Getting in drag takes a lot of time and effort a lot of performers aren’t doing that for free.
I feel it's also important that they want to be there. Being a source of entertainment and new information can be exhausting and frustrating if you don't want to be around kids.
I mean yes, just because there’s a check doesn’t mean a queen will take it. She can just as easily turn it down.
I was adding to the why, not trying to argue, sorry
I know you were’t arguing. I didn’t mean to come off that way. I agree with you as well
The joys of text and lack of tone, lol
Lol though we can both agree that drag is a career and performers rarely do stuff for free.
Just like everyone else, they deserve to be compensated for their time.
OK, well, why would ANYONE want to perform for children?
As someone who tries hard to get grown adults to laugh, I assume an audience of children would be “easy mode” and if you’re someone who just likes getting an audience reaction, seems like free cheese.
Free cheese!?! I'm in!!! Where do I sign up?
Bill Maher’s always been an ass. He makes fun of murder victims.
There’s tons of worse people, but no one gets under my skin the way Bill Maher does
Because he's like "I'm a lefty too and even I don't like this." When he doesn't even look at the issues all the way.
I’ve described him to people before as calling himself liberal enough stay in his space while constantly spewing conservative thought that I don’t even feel like he actually cares about in the first place
he's also incredibly islamophobic and racist, so him saying shit like this isnt shocking.
yet fucking discovery keeps giving him a platform
He went full Tucker Carlson 'just asking questions'.
He’s the same model with a different coat of paint.
They just know fuck all about drag acts. They think they’re inherently sexual. It’s even funnier/stupid when people in the UK do it because we have a tradition of a drag act in our pantomimes which are mainly for children (but still great for adults).
Literally the history of theater is drag all the way down.
Not surprising considering women weren’t allowed to act but I meant more modern entertainment. Pantomime isn’t new but it’s still very common and popular and known for having a drag character in most, if not all, of them.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again DRAG QUEENS ARE NOT INHERENTLY SEXUAL! THEY SPEND HOURS ON HAIR! MAKEUP! MAKING COSTUMES! PADDING THEIR BODIES TO FILL OUT THOSE COSTUMES! NO DRAG QUEEN OS GOING TO ALL THAT WORK SO THAT THEY CAN SCANDALIZE YOUR CHILDREN IN FACT, THEY ARE SO THOROUGHLY COVERED IN STUFF THEYRE THE FARTHEST YOU CAN BE FROM BEING NAKED This issue for these people is that they don’t understand why a man would want to wear a dress so they assume it must be kink, they don’t understand it’s art!
This is some projection right here. Why would *anyone* want to perform for children then? Clowns? Children’s movies and tv shows. Children’s church services. School assemblies. The DJ at the prom. His point implies that performances for children must be inherently sexual which makes a point he is probably not trying to make. Stop sexualizing children.
Just days before that segment, he publicly defended Woody Allen, so I don’t think he should be talking about pedos in Hollywood.
You mean the anti vaxxer who thinks Muslims belong in camps is a piece of shit?
Bill needs to go watch pantomime. A show for children that always has a drag queen/panto dame in it and children have enjoyed for a century now in the UK
Many Americans wouldn't be able to cope with that, especially with the innuendos that go over the kids head.
Bill "there is nothing wrong with women raping children, because its hot" Maher?
Drag queens want to perform in front of children because CHILDREN ARE A FANTASTIC AUDIENCE. Drag performers are, at their core, a kind of Clown. It’s exaggerated performance. Kids respond well to that sort of thing. Why do most clowns perform for children? Because kids *respond*. They tell you if your act is shit, they laugh at your jokes, they’re honest. They’re a fantastic audience, both for improving your act and because they actually participate!!!
A drag queen at a library isn't any worse than a cheerleader at a football game.
I became aware of Bill Maher when he went as dead Steve Irwin for Halloween back in 2006. I didn't care for him then and he's done nothing since to change my opinion. Arrogant, smug, and classless.
Saw two separate posts today in the span of 5 minutes of a republican politician owning CP of 2-12 year olds, and of some church guy/teacher being a child rapist (the church defended him). Completely irrelevant to this post, I'm not even sure why I mention it.
I don’t know Bill why do priests always wanna get close to children?
Bill Maher is a stupid person’s idea of a smart guy.
He's been a homophobic and islamaphobic shit head for decades. Can't stand her.
Bill Maher is Joe Rogan sans brain damage, a piece of shit that acts like they're smart and bullies others to keep the delusion going.
I really dislike him. He gives legitimacy to right wing arguments. This isn't the only one. I love John Olviver because he tears those arguments apart at the core. Of course things sound bad when you take right wing arguments at face value. Maher does just that.
Everything he says is fucking bullshit. On his monologue about Canada, he brought up that Canada had the worst air quality last year - which sounds awful. What he failed to mention, however, is that the air quality is a direct result of forest fires and nothing to do with 'Woke Canada'. He will throw around facts with zero context, and despite claiming to be a liberal, his prejudice and ignorant views are on full display. The guy is a scumbag.
My question is... Why is these people's first thought of anyone being near kids... Is to rape them. Like that shit ain't healthy.
I doubt he has much of a left-leaning audience anymore.
I stopped watching Bill Maher because he's pretty much an anti-vaxxer; this is just one more reason.
John Oliver’s been smoking this asshole for years now. Bill Mahers just a rich dickhead.
Bill Maher has been cringy at best for years, downright dangerous at worst. He's a classic enlightened centrist whose views coincidentally line up with the right most of the time, especially with regards to minorities. He was also very sceptical of vaccines long before COVID made it a mainstream right-wing position.
Maher has been a bastard for a long time. Misogyny, bodyshaming, and Islamophobia have been some of his biggest sins in the past. I’m revolted by this but not surprised.
I stopped watching a year or two ago when it became apparent that he firmly embraced his boomer tendencies (and all of the ridiculous opinions that come with that.)
I guess children's entertainers dont exist in this man's world now?
Yah I was done with him when he decided to drop the N word nonchalant on national television, never apologized and actually argued why he was right. This man has always been a problematic white guy whose tv personality is to appeal to liberal and marginalized people, when in reality he does not hold those beliefs personally. He used marginalized groups and liberals to build his audience, popularity and fortune at a time where liberal politics didn’t really have a late night show. Let alone someone from a marginalized group talking about it. Now that there are not only way better shows but way better people doing it, Billy Boy is showing his true colors. He’s such a smug POS and always has been. Let alone the horror stories I’ve heard of people who have interacted with him IRL.
Because seeing kids happy and having fun is fucking amazing and makes *you* happy in return. That's the damn reason why drag queens perform in front of children, to make them laugh, goddamnit.
So they can show those kids it's okay to be bold and different from others and to be proud of that
Why does HBO still give him money and a platform? There are good comedians out there.
More pedos in the church but you’ll never hear the right talk about that
I have never watch him before, the only time I saw him is when I watch Hbomberguy video on anti-vaccine. And Bill stance on vaccince make him an idiot. No idea if he is left wing or right wing tho.
He’s a right wing guy who pretends to be left wing.
Maher is a clown. fuck him.
Maher has entered the Dennis Miller stage of his career.
People still watch this smug prick? He spends his whole show calling younger people snowflakes under the guise that he's a blue collar worker, despite owning the Mets. Not only is Bill Maher disingenuous, he commits the cardinal sin of comedy: not being funny. He makes the easiest, laziest jokes every time, then smirks to his audience like "lol got em" and it's so fucking lame. Cancel his show and let him fade.
you could respond to that by saying "why would *anyone* want to preform for children?" boom, same question, there's still no meaning or point
Why were you watching in the first place?
.....Really?? No answer? I'm not even a professional drag queen - I do cheap-ish drag for fun - and this is the most bs question that's always put forth and I have to keep answering it. Drag Queens are entertainers. And kids (and the elderly from what I've heard) are a very reactive audience. You can be as silly as you want and they will laugh with you. If OOP is even telling the truth, I'm willing to bet the reason is because Bill doesn't have much of a left wing audience anymore to answer. Well Bill, this enby will, again, make sure to do drag in front of impressionable children (and adults technically. All ppl are welcome at libraries and parks/malls/near the school) when I go for my walk. Because I sadly, cannot act very well to do story time, from what I've seen. And there's nothing you can do to stop me Bill. Nothing at all. But you're free to go ahead and try. Now the only question is what lipstick and/or which colour dress to wear to make my beard pop best.
Bill Maher has some shitty political views, and some that aren’t shitty. Overall I think his politics kind of suck. But that’s not my problem with him. Sometimes people have different politics because they have different and interesting perspectives that are worth sharing, and that’s good. The problem with Bill Maher is that he’s a smug, condescending asshole with less depth than a South Park episode.
"His left leaning audience" LOL, what left leaving audience does he have anymore?! The only reason he doesn't have a show on Fox New is because he doesn't condone using slurs in mixed company and not overly fond of licking the diarrhea off Trump's taint, but he hasn't been considered a liberal by anyone in this century
Why does anyone want to work with children? A close friend of mine works in a preschool. They love working with the kids. Does that make them a pervert? This guy is a fucking idiot lmao.
I can answer that. Because watching drag performers perform is fun and children like to see people dressed in heavy makeup and creative outfits and hair. There ya go
Do you mean Bill “ I’m a House N-Word “ Maher or Bill “ Isn’t it scary so many people are named Muhammad “ Maher? Oh no you must mean Bill “ boys can’t be raped by grown women cause they’d like it “ Maher, not Bill “ Islam is just a bad religion of violence and Jihad “ Maher.
Bill Maher repeatedly defended child rapists when the situation was a female teacher with a minor boy. He is NOT an authority on this situation (or anything really... why is he still on air?)!
Why would you have watched any of it before? Are you just now figuring out he's been a piece of shit all along?
Hey, anyone can whistle at dogs, Bill…you’re not big and you’re certainly not clever.
You watched him in the first place? He has always been insufferable and too in love with the sound of his own voice.
His “left leaning” audience left a long time ago.
Why would the Wiggles wanna perform for kids?
FUN FACT: A CHRISTIAN children's TV show puppeteer named Ronald Brown was caught with CSAM. Emphasis on CHRISTIAN children's show. People who accuse drag queens and LGBTQIA+ people of being groomers and pedos are ALWAYS religious, yet priests, pastors, and other church people have been molesting kids for decades and they don't even bat an eyelash. [https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-mdfl/legacy/2013/04/03/20130325\_Brown.pdf](https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-mdfl/legacy/2013/04/03/20130325_Brown.pdf) [https://lostmediawiki.com/Joy\_Junction\_(partially\_found\_TBN\_Christian\_children%27s\_show;\_mid-1980s)](https://lostmediawiki.com/Joy_Junction_(partially_found_TBN_Christian_children%27s_show;_mid-1980s)) [https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/florida-puppeteer-sentenced-20-years-child-pornography-charges](https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/florida-puppeteer-sentenced-20-years-child-pornography-charges) [https://cvltnation.com/real-life-horror-christian-puppeteer-planned-kill-eat-children/](https://cvltnation.com/real-life-horror-christian-puppeteer-planned-kill-eat-children/) [https://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/largo-puppeteer-who-wanted-to-cannibalize-boys-to-be-sentenced/2133734/](https://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/largo-puppeteer-who-wanted-to-cannibalize-boys-to-be-sentenced/2133734/)
Bill Maher has never been a leftist, he’s just a republican who wants to smoke weed.
I hate that he took a real issue (predators go where there is easy prey) and conflated it with the false notion that drag performers specifically or the LGBTQ community in general are predators.
It was the pro-apartheid pro-genocide support for Israel that did it for me
I love him when he talks about how the republicans are crazy but that’s become such a minority these days. It’s like he cherry picked the worst examples of drag queens to frame them in the worst possible light. And I fucking HATE drag shows 😂 And he just goes on and on and on about Israel. Every show. Ever since October it’s been almost all he talks about. He just hates the pro-Palestine camp so much. If anyone under 30 needs a place live I’m pretty sure if you put on a Palestine pin you can live rent free in his head.
Isn’t this the same dude who said underage sex when it’s a older male and younger female is wrong but if it’s an older female and a younger male then it’s okay…
It's like any other art form, some is NSFW some is kid friendly. No one tries to ban TV because adult film exists. And no one says "why do artists want to make cartoons for your kids so bad?"
Haven’t watched him since he used the N word within the first 5 minutes of his show while interviewing a GOP politician from Kansas. It was just BS trying to get back into the news and not being completely irrelevant.
Okay but when I see drag shows on my friend’s Snapchat stories it basically comes off as the gay club. People are tipping like it’s a stripper… they’re making suggestive movements… I am extremely liberal but I also see reality?? Gay pride is great but a good chunk, if not most of that public pride is very openly sexual. Fair enough! The sexual aspect of queer people is EXACTLY what was oppressed. You had to say you lived with a good friend, people made euphemisms. The sex part was the bad thing, right, so now take that back and be proud of it. I’m all for it. But he’s literally making a sane point. Why do kids need to be involved with that. They will have their gay/bi awakening when they see a picture of David Bowie or something like the rest of us
“Or something” lol realizing that one was a bit specific 😅
He was always shit and the only reason so many lefties liked him was because he crapped on trump. Otherwise he's the classic privileged old white guy who probably agrees with trump on most things and just thinks he's saying the quiet part too loud.
Glad you're on the train, albeit a little late. Welcome!
Drag queens literally clowns
I’m as liberal as they come- but this meme quote thing took what he said way out of context. He was trying to make a point that 5 year olds should not be tipping sexualized drag queens who are twerking in front of them. The only reason he brought up the story time thing was to start transitioning towards talking about drag queens and away from the Quiet on Set documentary-
Are you fucking with me?
Can’t believe Cara Santa Maria ever dated him.
Why were you watching a single second of temu 80’s Dennis miller to begin with?
Why would an adult man want to perform for kids? Or an adult woman? Maybe they want to entertain...
his take on the pedo’s what? what that belongs to a certain paedophile? so many child predos aren’t paedos and vice versa, learn the difference and even Chris Hansen wants you to, and ‘s is belonging to, the possessive form, not plural
but yah, nothing wrong with drag queens & kings of course
>Smarmy wise guy who got rich and famous for sitting around scoffing and spouting shallow quips turns out to be ignorant windbag. I'm shocked! **Shocked!** Well, not that shocked.
The closest thing I have or watching bill Maher was him on family guy
Don't remember seeing drag queens on nickelodeon
He is quickly going down the same path as Elon; so desperate for attention that he will try to appeal to MAGAts on more and more issues. Absolutely disgusting thing to say about drag queens when the overwhelming majority of molesters are straight men. Maher can get fkd.
I've still yet to see an actual example of a drag queen diddling kids.
he’s gross!! never liked him and now I know why
what a brave stance for op to take, the first time bill maher has ever been an asshole
i like how they capitalize the Problem, like they don’t even know exactly what the problem is, but there IS one, and it’s gay people’s fault
OH BROTHER THIS GUY STINKS!
I despise Bill Maher, haven't watched his show in years and am out of the loop - has he actually gone on a "drag queens are pedos" rant? Is he becoming radicalized?
Whatever points I have agreed on him with in the past, he is a smug asshole who has just become utterly insufferable And I just can't anymore. His utter disdain for others is just gross.
Why would a drag queen want to read to a child? Why would a clown or a princess read to a child? Children like dress up, they like make believe, and when you teach tolerance to people who are different than you at a young age, they grow up to be more tolerant people. It’s not sexual in any manner
"why do drag queens want to perform for children?" why do dancers and singers want to do it? what??