Bill Maher.Photo:Noam Galai/Getty
Noam Galai/Getty
Bill Maherhas no plans to quit his showReal Time.
During an interview withCNNon Friday, Jan. 10, the comedian and political pundit, 68, addressed the rumors about his retirement and said that, if anything, he will have to be forced out.
“I don’t know where this started about I’m getting rid ofReal Time,” he told anchorJake Tapper. “They’re going to have to drag me off of that show.”
Maher has been hostingReal Timesince 2003, and the show is set to return for its 23rd season on Friday, Jan. 17 on HBO.
During theDec. 1 episode, Maher told guestJane Fondathat he was not keen about the idea of having to create material centered around another presidential term withDonald Trumpin the White House.
“I may quit because I don’t want to do another. I did Trump,” Maher told Fonda, 87. “I did all the Trump stuff before anybody. I called him a con man before anybody. I did. He’s a mafia boss. I was the one who said he wasn’t going to concede the election. I’ve done it.”
“No,” Maher quickly interjected.
“Well, you said something to Jane Fonda about — about thinking about that,” continued Tapper, asking, “Where are you in your career? You still got a lot of good stand-up, a lot of good jokes in you, right? Like what — tell us what — what’s next?”
Maher then clarified that the only thing he is retiring is his exhausting stand-up routine.
“OK. I am stopping doing stand-up, just because I’m tired of touring, just because I’ve been doing it for 40 years,” he told Tapper, while adding, “I love nothing more than being onstage somewhere telling jokes to strangers. It’s been my entire life. It’s been the most consistent thing in my life.”
Maher continued: “But for those people who say to me, ‘Why don’t you just do it a little bit?' You can’t do it a little bit. Stand-up is like being a boxer. You have to be in training. You can’t just walk up there and do it.”
Bill Maher.Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
“I’ve been in training for 40 years. I need a break,” Maher added. “And I’m tired of the travel. I’m tired of dragging my ass out of bed on Saturday morning to go to someplace after I worked so hard onReal Timeall week.”
“What I was saying was that I didn’t want to do another Trump term,” he clarified. “Not just because I don’t think it’s going to be possibly a great time for America. Maybe again, not going to pre-hate anything, but because I’ve already done all the jokes about Donald Trump.”
He continued: “I don’t know what else to say about the guy. But of course, he will provide us with a lot of new material. And I’ll get into it, but I was hoping that in the episodic television show that is America, I was hoping for some new characters."
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The season 23 premiere ofReal Time with Bill Maherairs on Friday, Jan. 17 on HBO at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
source: people.com
