Bill Maher ties France's Charlie Hebdo attack to North Korea's Interview hit job
![Bill Maher ties France's Charlie Hebdo attack to North Korea's Interview hit job](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gzSmYHFM3JPBKEDhnVwhoN-415-80.jpg)
On Wednesday night's Jimmy Kimmel Live, hours after two gunmen stormed the offices of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and shot 12 people dead, HBO host Bill Maher had a pointed message for his fellow liberals. Kimmel noted that the attack affected "our business in particular," but Maher quickly turned the discussion to the suspected perpetrators: "Muslim terrorists."
The Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, who "had the balls of the Eiffel Tower," were gunned down for drawing cartoons, Maher said. "This has to stop, and unfortunately, a lot of liberals who are my tribe" — when the audience cheered his identification as a "proud liberal," Kimmel quipped: "He's about to turn on you" — need to do a better job of embracing liberal values, Maher said. Liberal have to embrace the right to tell a joke, be it against Muslim prophets or North Korean leader Kim Jong Un:
We have to stop saying, "Well, we should not insult a great religion." First of all, there are no great religions — they're all stupid and dangerous. And we should insult them, and we should be able to insult whatever we want. That is what free speech is like. There are certain people in the world who want waivers on free speech. Kim Jong Un, in Korea, says, "You cannot make jokes about our country." [Maher]
Maher went on to argue that "hundred of millions" of Muslims cheer attacks like the Charlie Hebdo massacre, even if they wouldn't carry them out themselves: "That is mainstream in the Muslim world, that when you make fun of the Prophet, all bets are off, you get what's coming to you." In other words, classic Maher: Something for everyone to love and hate. Still, his point about beheadings at the Vatican seems unassailable. Watch Maher's sermon below. --Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
In The Spotlight A new study reveals the strengths and limitations
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'I will not be silent' on Gaza, says Kamala Harris
Speed Read In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris supported Israel's right to defend itself while expressing a desire to end Palestinian suffering
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'How long can TikTok dominate as a social network?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published