
Rumors about Bill Maher possibly quitting Real Time have been circulating, and the comedian is setting the record straight. On January 10, Maher spoke directly to CNN, addressing the speculations head-on. He made it clear that he has no plans to leave the show, saying, “They’re going to have to drag me off of that show.”
These comments came after some speculation following Maher’s December 2024 appearance on Jane Fonda’s Club Random podcast. During the episode, Maher hinted that he might step away from his work, particularly if another presidential term under Donald Trump became a reality. He told Fonda, “I may quit because I don’t want to do another. I did Trump.” Maher explained that he had already covered every angle of Trump, from calling him a con man to predicting he wouldn’t concede the 2020 election. According to Maher, he felt he had already exhausted the topic and didn’t want to revisit it.
However, when asked about these remarks in his CNN interview, Maher clarified that he wasn’t talking about quitting Real Time. Instead, he was referring to his stand-up comedy career, explaining that he was tired of touring and didn’t want to keep up with the grueling schedule. He emphasized that his comments about Trump in the podcast were meant to convey his desire to stop focusing on the former president for the next four years, not that he was retiring from television.
In his signature sarcastic style, Maher explained that he wasn’t making these remarks because he thought another term under Trump would be a disaster for the country (although he certainly wasn’t optimistic about that), but because he felt he had already used up all his jokes about Trump. He humorously compared the country’s political situation to an “episodic television show,” hoping for new “characters” to spice things up.
Despite the surrounding drama, Maher made it clear that he’s not going anywhere, and fans of Real Time can rest easy knowing that he plans to keep hosting the show for the foreseeable future.