Bill Maher ended Friday’s “Real Time” by saying conservatives who profess hatred for Hollywood liberals are jealous they couldn’t hack it in the entertainment business.
“Republicans have to stop pretending they hate it when celebrities give their political opinions,” Maher said during the “New Rules” segment ending the show. “Please. You’re the party that made Reagan president.”
“It’s not our fault that your celebrities are Ted Nugent, Pat Sajak and Donald Trump,” Maher added.
“James Woods? His last credit was on a Mastercard bill.”
“Scott Baio? The only thing he’s been in that made headlines recently was his costar.”
Noting that Antonio Sabàto Jr. recently said he’d been “blacklisted” for appearing at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Maher joked that being blacklisted would be a step up. “He’d be lucky to get on a do not call list. You’d have to run him in to show business.”
Maher noted that NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch once tried, and failed, to get a sitcom off the ground, adding that the “same thing” pretty much happened to Andrew Breitbart, as well as his successor at the website Breitbart founded, Steve Bannon.
“[Breitbart] called celebrities ‘elitist pestilence with their cocktail parties on the West Side.’ ‘God, I f—ing hate them,’ he said. Which is funny because for years you know who I’d always see at cocktail parties on the West Side? Andrew Breitbart.”
“Oh, he hated Hollywood. Hated it,” Maher added. “Hated it. Hated it. Mostly from his home in America’s heartland, Brentwood.”
Maher lamented that “If only they had made that sitcom, today [Dana Loesch] might be a completely normal person,” and ended “New Rules” with a plea for studios to try and reverse the trend of Republican media heroes who started out with Hollywood dreams.
“That is why I implore tonight of all Hollywood executives, the next time a conservative comes to you with a really dumb idea for a movie or a TV show, just f—ing do it. We need affirmative action for Republicans in show business. They’re not good enough to make it on their own but if we give them a leg up, maybe they won’t take their rejection out on the whole country.”