Bill Maher told Jane Fonda he might end his long-running HBO talk show because of his desire to stop talking about Donald Trump, admitting he’s “sucking his pants” about a second term.
Maher interviewed legendary actress and activist Fonda on his podcast Club Random, which has been running since 2022.
The two famous liberals got into a discussion about Trump’s second term after Maher referenced the president-elect’s joke about the late golfer Arnold Palmer during an election rally before they began to despair about the next four years.
‘I’m fucking in my pants. I can quit,” he said on his show Real Time. “Because I don’t want to do (Trump term) again.”
Fonda admitted it was “hard to believe” Trump had won again.
Maher then claimed that his frustration stemmed from the fact that he had said everything he had to say about Trump over the past decade.
“I did all the Trump stuff before anyone else did. I said he was a con man before, I called him a mafia boss.’
“I was the one who said he wouldn’t concede the election. I’ve done it, I’ve seen this damn thing…I’m bored with it.’
Bill Maher told Jane Fonda he might end his long-running HBO talk show over his desire to stop talking about Donald Trump, admitting he’s ‘sucking his pants’ about a second Trump term
Maher interviewed legendary actress and activist Fonda on his podcast, Club Random, which has been running since 2022
He then complained to Fonda about being a victim of Trump’s tweets and use of social media.
Fonda challenged Maher to “do something different” on his show that didn’t focus on the newly elected president.
“The show is the politics, there is nothing else and he will dominate the news like he always does,” he complained.
This isn’t the first career Maher has threatened to quit in 2024. Earlier this year, he told Jerry Seinfeld that he might retire from stand-up comedy.
“Well, I’m doing a special at the end of the year, it’ll be my 13th for HBO, that’s a lot,” Maher said, while Seinfeld admitted, “That’s a lot.”
“And I just feel like you… I don’t know, first of all, I put a lot of time and effort into it because as you know, stand-up is just like playing. the cello,” Maher said, as Seinfeld agreed, saying, “Absolutely.”
“You can’t just walk up, you have to stay in practice, and that’s what I do, and I’ve always enjoyed it, I’m always working on it, but I have a show,” Maher said.
Seinfeld admitted, “I don’t know how you kept it up on the show, or honestly why, but you did.”
The two famous liberals got into a discussion about Trump’s second term after Maher referenced the president-elect’s joke about the late golfer Arnold Palmer during an election rally before they began to despair about the next four years.
Fonda challenged Maher to ‘do something different’ on his show that didn’t focus on the newly elected president
Maher explained that he continued, “because they were feeding each other, first of all because it was so great, and also because I love it.”
“I can be as loose as I can be… the show is great, but there are limitations, this (the podcast) is looser, but what’s looser than you guys paying to see me?” Maher said.
He joked, “Even if you don’t like it, you still have to laugh to get your money’s worth, like how you stay in a movie even if it sucks.”
Maher added, “If I don’t have to play the cello 8 hours a day, I can do that… I might want to do one of these live, that’s an interesting option that people are doing these days.”
“And then it’s kind of an event,” Maher said, as Seinfeld responded, “It’s not crazy.”
Maher added: “That’s why I’m reluctant to make an announcement after 40 years because I might change my mind. It can be like cutting off a limb and having to go back there.”
The comic’s HBO show is off the air until January 19, just before Trump’s second inauguration in Washington.
Earlier this year, the channel renewed Maher’s show for a 22nd, 23rd and 24th season, which will run through 2026.
At the time, Maher sounded thrilled to continue his long-standing relationship with the network, which has also aired several of his stand-up comedy specials.
“Two more years in the dream job of your life, on the network that so many people dream of being in – I guess we call that a no-brainer,” he said.
Traditionally seen as a liberal, Maher has begun to draw the ire of the left in recent years.
During his season finale, Maher showed exactly why he angers both sides, trashing Trump’s now-defunct choice of Matt Gaetz for attorney general before bashing liberal scholar Neil Degrasse Tyson’s debate points on the transgender community.