Bill Maher on Milo: 'You're Welcome'

HBO host answers critics who faulted his booking of Yiannopoulos
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 22, 2017 8:37 AM CST
Bill Maher on Milo: 'You're Welcome'
In this photo provided by HBO, host Bill Maher, left, listens to Milo Yiannopoulos.   (Janet Van Ham/HBO via AP)

Before his disastrous last few days, Milo Yiannopoulos appeared on Bill Maher's HBO show, and the booking caused Maher all kinds of grief. Now Maher has two words for those critics: "You're welcome." In an interview with the New York Times, Maher recalls the general line of attack as "Oh, how dare you give a platform to this man." But now that Yiannopoulos has lost a book contract, his job at Breitbart, and a speaking gig at CPAC in the wake of a video that included his nonchalant comments on pedophilia, Maher says the lesson is clear: "As I say, sunlight is the best disinfectant."

Maher also pushed back against those who say he let Yiannopoulos off too easy during the show, arguing that he had just eight minutes and he used that time to get into a "broad view" of his guest's opinions. He also doesn't seem to take Yiannopoulos too seriously, suggesting that Yiannopoulos himself isn't too sure about his own philosophy. "To see him as this monster is a little crazy," says Maher. "You know what he is? He's the little impish, bratty kid brother. And the liberals are his older teenager sisters who are having a sleepover and he puts a spider in their sleeping bag so he can watch them scream." Click for the full interview. (More Bill Maher stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X