It’s a Lie!’ Bill Maher Lashes Out Over Racist Trump Fan Gag — Says His MAGA Pals Have No Problem Greeting Black People
Bill Maher, who is known for speaking his mind as a comedian and podcast host, recently got upset about a comedy sketch that made Trump supporters look like racists. He said this kind of portrayal is based on an old, false idea that keeps coming back even though it’s not true anymore. He called it a “zombie lie,” meaning it’s a lie that won’t die, no matter how many times it’s proven wrong.
He explained that the sketch came from an episode of *Saturday Night Live*, where Tom Hanks played a Trump supporter appearing on a game show called *Black Jeopardy!* In the scene, Hanks’ character acts scared when the Black host, played by Kenan Thompson, tries to shake his hand. The skit makes it look like Trump supporters are too racist to even touch a Black person. Although the two characters do eventually shake hands, the joke still left a bad taste in Maher’s mouth.
Maher said he found the sketch offensive and misleading. He’s known for criticizing Trump, but in this case, he defended the people who support Trump, saying the ones he knows personally are not like that at all. In fact, he said they don’t have any issue shaking hands or interacting with Black people. He admitted that, like any large group, there are always going to be some people with extreme or racist views, but to label all Trump supporters as racists is just wrong and unfair.
His guest on the podcast, Jillian Michaels, agreed and said it’s frustrating that people keep repeating that kind of narrative. She pointed out that she had met Tom Hanks before and thought he was a nice person, but still didn’t understand why he would take part in such a sketch.
Maher went further to say that comedy is supposed to exaggerate things for laughs, but this particular joke wasn’t just exaggeration — it was based on something he believes simply isn’t true anymore. He explained that in comedy, for a joke to really work, it has to start from a place of truth. If the basic idea behind the joke isn’t believable, then the joke falls apart. That’s why this sketch didn’t sit right with him.
He also said that sometimes comedians do make mistakes and cross the line, and that’s part of the job. But he doesn’t think the creators of this sketch even see it as a mistake — they probably think it was great. But as someone who identifies as a liberal and also as a comedian, he found it upsetting. Not because it offended him personally, but because it was dishonest. He said that lying, especially in comedy, just doesn’t work. If you start with a lie, the whole joke crumbles.
In his view, the idea that Trump supporters wouldn’t shake hands with a Black person might have been closer to the truth years ago, but it no longer reflects the reality he sees now. He believes this kind of humor only makes political division worse and prevents real conversations from happening. Instead of helping people understand each other, it just adds more fuel to the fire.
