All the Awkward Moments of Bill Maher Trying to Sell His New Book to Conservatives

Jerry Seinfeld may have thought that he was a lock for the “Worst Publicity Blitz of 2024” award, but his old friend Bill Maher is giving him a run for his money.

Maher is currently in the process of promoting his new book — and by “new book” we mean a printed collection of stuff he already said on TV — called What This Comedian Says Will Shock You. Which is an odd title for a book that’s A) comprised mostly of pre-existing material, and B) written by one of the most painfully predictable celebrities on the planet. 

Either way, Maher has been showing up on various talk shows, like The View, where he complained about how wokeness is ruining America to a daytime TV audience for a change, and told one conspicuously terrible joke that acted as a sound check for crickets. But even more awkward has been Maher’s attempt to cozy up to right-wing audiences, guesting on conservative shows such as Megyn Kelly’s podcast. It’s hard to imagine that Maher’s appearance convinced anybody that they should listen to his opinion on important topics.

After the episode dropped, people on the right were gleefully dunking on Maher for incorrectly stating that Hillary Clinton never questioned the legitimacy of the 2016 election. And one would imagine that folks on the left weren’t thrilled to hear Maher obediently agree with Kelly’s vile transphobia and xenophobia. 

When they did disagree, Maher’s debating skills were just as bad as they are when he’s busy juggling gin bottles and zippos in his mancave. Even the “vast middle” he claims to represent wouldn’t have been impressed. 

Maher and Kelly both bemoaned how woke culture is really just about “catching people,” with Maher noting that it’s now considered racist to use the word “reservation” when booking a table at a restaurant because it’s “insulting” to Indigenous people, which is seemingly a thing Maher just made up? Is his pot-addled brain creating a nonexistent controversy out of a 31-year-old Seinfeld plot line?

Then there was his appearance on Gutfeld!, the only late-night talk show brave enough to utilize the always-hilarious exclamation point! Greg Gutfled, the self-described “King of Late Night,” began the interview with a cringey video in which the lyrics of Paul McCartney’s "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" were altered to reflect how “sorry” Gutfeld is to Maher, who, it turns out, also has a lot of garbage opinions. 

Maher appeared along with a panel of three other guests, prompting him to accuse Gutfeld of stealing his old Politically Incorrect format. While they bickered about Trump’s authoritarianism, Maher then sympathized with Trump supporters, who apparently only voted for him to combat the “nonsense on the left.” Maher also shaded Gutfeld for not knowing that Trump once sued him, questioning: “You’re in news?” But you can still tell that Gutfeld was super happy to have Maher, partly because he was wearing a suit jacket, instead of going with his usual look, best described as “What if an Old Navy mannequin got divorced?”

But Maher was really there to move merchandise, which is why he literally interrupted one of the other guests when she brought up someone else’s book by mumbling “let’s plug my book.” And when he was finally given time to plug said book, he bragged that “everybody who’s read it so far has said it’s like the funniest book they ever read, because it’s been LOL-tested.” 

Which, truly, might be the funniest thing he’s ever said. 

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time you’re reading this).