NEWSBill Maher Sets the Record Straight on Rumors He's Leaving His Talk Show: 'I Don't Know Where This Started'
Bill Maher shut down rumors of him leaving his HBO show, 'Real Time with Bill Maher.'
Bill Maher is setting the record straight — he’s not stepping away from Real Time with Bill Maher anytime soon.
During a CNN interview on Friday, January 10, the 68-year-old comedian squashed rumors about his retirement, making it clear he has no plans to leave his long-running HBO show.
Bill Maher confirmed he’s not leaving 'Real Time' anytime soon.
“I don’t know where this started about me getting rid of Real Time,” Maher told Jake Tapper. “They’re going to have to drag me off of that show.”
Maher, who has been hosting Real Time since 2003, is gearing up for the show’s 23rd season, set to premiere Friday, January 17, on Max.
Speculation about his future started swirling after Maher made comments during a December 2024 episode of his “Club Random” podcast, where he hinted at his frustrations with the idea of covering another presidential term when Donald Trump takes office in January.
“I may quit because I don’t want to do another. I did Trump,” Maher said at the time while chatting with Jane Fonda. “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.”
Bill Maher has hosted 'Real Time' since 2003.
Tapper pressed Maher about his prior statement, saying, “But there’s talk promulgated by you about maybe quitting the HBO show."
Maher quickly shot that down, stating: “No.”
Maher also circled back to his earlier comments about Trump, clarifying that his frustration stems from not wanting to rehash material about the former president for another four years.
“What I was saying was that I didn’t want to do another Trump term,” he explained. “Not just because I don’t think it’s going to be 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.”
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The talk show host plans to retire from stand-up comedy after 40 years of performing.
He added with a laugh, “Of course, he’ll provide us with a lot of new material. And I’ll get into it. But in the episodic television show that is America, I was hoping for some new characters.”
Maher also revealed that he wasn’t talking about quitting his show but instead retiring from his grueling comedy career.
“OK. I am stopping doing stand-up, just because I’m tired of touring, just because I’ve been doing it for 40 years,” Maher explained. “I love nothing more than being on stage somewhere telling jokes to strangers. It’s been my entire life. It’s been the most consistent thing in my life.”
He added, “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 clarified that his remarks about Donald Trump were not about quitting the show.
After four decades on the road, Maher admitted he is ready for a break.
“And I’m tired of the travel. I’m tired of dragging my a-- out of bed on Saturday morning to go to someplace after I worked so hard on Real Time all week,” he said
