As Bill Maher wrapped up his 700th episode of Real Time, he got on his soapbox to mourn the supposed loss of masculinity in media.
During Friday’s ‘New Rules’ segment, the comedian launched into a rant about manhood and blamed film and television’s “endless parade of eye-roll, short-bus dads” for Democrats losing the election.
“Let’s make the Father’s Day we just celebrated the last one that takes place in a culture where dads have become such punching bags, literally the last demographic group that TV, ads and movies can still depict as clueless, useless dipshits, basically just another child mom has to look after,” he launched into his sermon.
He blamed the 1987 comedy Three Men and a Baby for the decline of masculinity in culture, and want as far as to link sitcoms like Married with Children, The Simpsons, Modern Family and Malcolm in the Middle, as well as the Apple TV+ series Your Friends and Neighbors, to the uprising of figures like convicted rapist and sex trafficker Andrew Tate.
“And I get it, that this is a correction to centuries of women being deemed the weaker sex,” added Maher. “But how long does the correction last? And when will men stop making me throw up in my mouth with the way pander so negatively?”
After taking some jabs at Cleopatra, Hillary Clinton and Marie Antoinette to support his point, Maher continued, “Besides being historically naive, this cringey pandering is why teenage boys flock to jerks like Andrew Tate.”
“Yes, he’s a huge asshole,” he said, noting Tate’s crimes and massive following as a self-proclaimed misogynist. “And your kid thinks he’s cool. Because that’s the choice of role models the American teenage boy has, either performative pussy-hood or the man-osphere. Jesus, can’t the pendulum ever land in the middle in this country.”
Maher concluded, “I’m just saying; men, we’re not completely useless. So, if you want to know what to get dad next Father’s Day, how about a little respect?”
If Maher is the example of balanced masculinity, those teenage boys will unfortunately have to wait another month for his pearls of wisdom as Real Time is on hiatus for the month of July.
