February 7, 2024
Bill Maher Axed Two-Hour Kanye West Interview Because ‘He’s A Very Charming Antisemite’
Bill Maher decided to scrap his entire interview with Kanye West due to the rapper's "charming" antisemitic rhetoric.
Bill Maher sat down with Kanye West for a two-hour interview as part of his podcast. But the political talk show host decided to scrap the entire interview due to Kanye’s “charming” antisemitic rhetoric.
On Monday, Feb. 5, Maher appeared on an “TMZ Investigates” episode centered around Kanye. While there, he revealed his recent sit down with the rap/fashion mogul as part of his “Club Random” podcast that won’t see the light of day due to Kanye’s bigoted views against the Jewish community.
While the comedian and Real Time with Bill Maher host thought the interview would be a “learning moment,” the only knowledge he acquired from the two-hour chat was how strongly Kanye feels about Jews.
“We were here for two hours. By the way, we had an amazing, fun time,” Maher said. “He’s a very charming antisemite. And by the way, he’s not the only one in America who feels that way. It’s not like the Jews are universally loved except for Kanye West.”
Kanye saw a drastic fall from grace in 2022 after making a series of antisemitic remarks in interviews and on social media. As a result, Kanye lost a reported $2 billion in one day after Adidas, Balenciaga, and Gap severed their ties with the rapper. Several other businesses ended deals with the “Stronger” rapper, as well as his alma mater, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which rescinded the honorary doctorate he was awarded in 2015.
In the year since the fallout, Kanye has teased his return to music with performances and songs released as part of his upcoming collaboration project with Ty Dolla Sign. All the while, Kanye’s fanbase remains intact despite his controversial behavior, which most recently includes parading around public with his barely-clothed wife, Bianca Censori.
Maher thinks that as long as Kanye appeals to young audiences, his antisemitism will go unnoticed by his fans.
“The problem, I think, is that he appeals mostly — of course, he’s a rock star — to young people,” Maher said. “They don’t know much, and they surely don’t know much about the Middle East or Jews. So the combination of Kanye out there — I feel like he was helpful for spreading the fertilizer, and I do mean fertilizer, for this idea that Israel and the Jews are the worst people in the world.”
TMZ founder Harvey Levin likened Kanye’s power to that of Adolf Hitler in how it could encourage younger people to express their antisemitic views.
“A lot of people were thinking what he was thinking, but in Kanye’s case, the fact that he’s saying it out loud gives other people permission to say it too, right?” Levin asked.
“Yes, exactly,” Maher said. “That’s why I wouldn’t air that episode, because I’m not going to contribute to this.”
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