Comedian Bill Maher angrily dismissed the idea that he should tailor his stand-up routines to better relate to younger generations during a conversation with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Maher, host of the HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher, was pressed by Tyson during Sunday's episode of his Club Random podcast on why he no longer performs stand-up shows on college campuses. Maher has repeatedly made headlines for his controversial content throughout his career, including recently stating in a monologue on Real Time that students are indoctrinated "into a stew of bad ideas" at "elite" colleges.
"Surely there's a portfolio of jokes that would work on a college campus," Tyson inquired to Maher.
"I would hope not," Maher responded. "Maybe some college campuses. The ones you read about are f****** insane."
Tyson went on to assert that Maher had given up on reaching an "entire generation" with his comedy, to which Maher responded, "I have given up on any place that doesn't even remotely attempt to believe in free speech, and thinks that anything that they hear, that they don't like, that they don't agree with, is violence."
"These people are f****** nuts and you should be calling them out," Maher threw back to Tyson. "Somebody like you who has standing with kids should be."
"You're doing what parents do," Maher continued. "You're taking the path of least resistance, and therefore hurting the kids and yourself. Parents ruin both their lives. They ruin their f****** spoiled kids' lives, and they ruin their own lives because the kids rule the roost. So that's what you're doing on a national level."
Tyson, who has over 2 million followers on Instagram and often explains scientific concepts using social media, said that he avoids controversial topics in order to reach younger generations, describing such issues as "landmines."
"My father's greatest bit of wisdom to me...one of them was, 'It's not good enough to be right. You also have to be effective,'" Tyson added. "And if you reject the college campus, then you have no influence on them."
Maher lamented that Tyson didn't know what he was "talking about," adding that while the astrophysicist knows "outer space, I know f****** doing comedy shows."
The two ended the momentarily heated exchange on a lighthearted note, with Tyson noting that he is a "huge consumer" of comedy routines, including Maher.
Maher quipped back, thanking Tyson "on behalf of all of us."
Newsweek reached out to both Maher and Tyson for comment via email Monday evening.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more
