Argument starts around 1:00. At 4:30 Hasselbeck snipes at him about something else.

Political commentator Bill Maher was a guest on The View yesterday, during which he got in an ongoing, uncomfortable exchange with cohost and resident conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck took offense at a tasteless remark that Maher made at her expense on his HBO show in February, where he said that we should send Hasselbeck to Egypt in exchange for CNN correspondent Lara Logan. That would have been despicable, considering that Logan was sexually assaulted by a mob. However, Maher said that over a week before any of that was known at all. On The View, Hasselbeck confronted Maher about it but she didn’t mention at all that he said it prior to when it was known that Logan had been raped.

On the Feb. 4 episode of ‘Real Time,’ as the Egyptian protests in Tahrir Square were unfolding, Maher made the following joke about Logan and Hasselbeck. “New rule: now that Hosni Mubarak has released Lara Logan, he must put her intrepid hotness on a plane immediately. In exchange, we will send Elisabeth Hasselbeck.” Over a week later, on Feb. 15, the public would learn that Logan had suffered a brutal sexual assault on Feb. 11 in Tahrir Square. When Maher told the joke, he couldn’t have known that Logan had been raped.

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Hasselbeck was none too pleased with a joke Maher made at her expense last February, in which he suggested sending her to Egypt in exchange for CBS News correspondent Lara Logan, who’d been assaulted while covering that country’s democratic uprising.

“The View” co-host told Maher she didn’t find his joke to be funny, and he explained that it wasn’t meant as a personal attack on her.

But things got even more contentious from there.

“Would you say that again?” asked Hasselbeck.

Maher replied, “If I had a crystal ball and knew I was coming here and had to spend my whole segment talking about it, no.”

When Hasselbeck continued to question Maher about his joke, Barbara Walters interceded, saying, “We’re done, can we move on?”

After the group began to talk politics, Hasselbeck sarcastically said to Maher, “Wow, I actually feel smarter sitting next to you.”

To which he replied, “Really? I feel like I’m in high school sitting next to you.”

[From Gossip Cop, ONTD]

Maher should have apologized and said that he was very sorry to have said that, especially in light of what happened to Logan. (Which again he did not know about at all when he made those comments.) Hasselbeck should have clarified that the remarks were made before it was known that Logan was assaulted. She was too aggressive toward him about it, and he got defensive instead. He handled himself well, although he should have emphasized that he said those things well before Logan’s story was known. Also, Hasselbeck was way too snotty and rude toward him later in the show, when he was commenting on Herman Cain and Rick Perry’s most recent gaffes. She shouldn’t have been sitting right next to him because all she did was snipe back at whatever he said. It was juvenile, Maher called it.

Comic Zach Galifianakis lit up what was supposedly an actual joint while he was on the Bill Maher show over the weekend. Zach and the panel were discussing Prop 19, which essentially legalizes marijuana in California and is up for vote tomorrow. To make his pro Prop-19 point, Zach pulled a joint out of his jacket and fired it up. Considering that they were in California, I’m sure he was violating all sorts of smoking bans. Smoke offends me in a way that drug use does not. I would vote “yes” on this measure if I was a resident of California, having skimmed the details. As long as people aren’t driving and aren’t in a closed public place while they’re smoking I have no problem with it. I don’t see how so many prescription drugs are legal but marijuana is not. (Outside of California.) Here’s E! Online’s coverage:

Love ‘em or leave ‘em, Zach (and host Bill Maher) are longtime proponents of weed. So what better time and place to light up a joint than during the Real Time round table discussing this week’s vote in California to decriminalize the drug.

“It’s a tricky thing politically to jump on that bandwagon,” The Hangover star mused of the legalization of pot before pulling the marijuana out of his sport coat and puffing away. “Because I think that maybe people still see it as taboo.”

The risky stunt was met with lots of laughs from the panel, but surprisingly, the biggest and most amused response came from Conservative panel guest Margaret Hoover. The reporter actually grabbed the blunt from the funnyman, sniffed it for herself, checking that it was the real deal, then passed it back across the table, all the while laughing hysterically.

Californians will have to wait until Tuesday’s election to see in Galifianakis’ Proposition 19 ploy was successful—or not, depending on which side of the debate you fall on.

[From E! Online]

I like Zach Galifinakis while he’s playing a character, but I tried to watch one of his standup routines on Netflix on demand and found that his humor fell completely flat for me. He just wasn’t funny and seemed kind of dull to me. Maybe you need to be high to really get the guy. As an actor I like him, though. Much of that is due to the sheer number of times I’ve watched G Force. (I have a six year old!)

One of my favorite parts about Vanity Fair is the Proust Questionnaire at the very end of the magazine. Every month, VF picks someone interesting and asks them the same questions from the famous list of questions Marcel Proust put together. Sometimes the person is a an older Hollywood type, sometimes a businessman, sometimes a writer. It’s always fascinating. Anyway, this month’s interviewee was Bill Maher. Now, I like Bill. I don’t love him, but I like him. He’s smarmy and smug, but he’s also funny and sharp as a tack. Considering his very public criticism to religion, it’s no surprise that he took a whack during the questionnaire, but still, even I was a little shocked:

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being in love while organizing my closet.

What is your greatest fear?
Waking up after a sleepover at John Waters’s house and finding my sleeping bag isn’t zipped up the same way as when I passed out. Or “President Palin.”

What is your greatest extravagance?
Hope.

What is your current state of mind?
Cautiously pessimistic.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Sobriety.

On what occasion do you lie?
To advance my personal agenda.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Proximity.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?“It’s an honor just to be nominated.”

When and where were you happiest?
Right now, here with you. Let’s not ruin it by talking.

Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to bullsh-t.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My desperate need to be liked.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Staying on the air.

What is your most treasured possession?
My freedom.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Thinking of the right thing to say—later.

What do you most value in your friends?
Non-disclosure.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Paul Revere.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Jesus of Nazareth.

What is it that you most dislike?
Hypocrisy, animal cruelty, and yams.

What is your greatest regret?
It’s a tie between muttonchop sideburns and believing Judith Miller. Honorable mention: Lehman Brothers—thanks a lot, a–holes.

How would you like to die?
Surrounded by enemies, holding a grenade.

What is your motto?
“Religion is bad, drugs are good.”

[From Vanity Fair]

For the love of… Bill! JESUS. And that’s what always bothers me about Bill. I get that he doesn’t like organized religion, or that he thinks Christianity is a joke, but claiming that Jesus was a “hero of fiction” only alienates people… people who might agree with him on a ton of other issues.

By the way, that girl on his arm is his girlfriend. Young much?

I’m a casual fan of both Bill Maher and Arianna Huffington, but I’m not buying this story from the National Enquirer. The Enquirer claims that Arianna and Bill are something of a hot new couple out in LA, and that Bill has “sworn off leggy models” et cetera. They make a big point about how Arianna is five years older than Bill, and that the love match is probably based on intelligence rather than sex, I guess. The gist is that Bill and Arianna were at a party and they were deep in conversation, it seems. Does this make them a couple?

Bill Maher has sworn off leggy models half his age and is getting serious with a brainy babe five year his senior – media queen Arianna Huffington.

Maher has fallen hard for Huffington, says sources. Maher and Arianna have been friends for years, but now the pair have started what seems to be a serious romance, say their pals.

“It’s love,” revealed an insider. “Bill has done his share of running around with ‘Playboy’ cuties and girls half his age, but now he feels like he’s found his soul mate.”

The hot new media couple first went public with their romance at a Hollywood party thrown recently by British film director Henry Jaglom.

“They were glued to each other most of the night,” said the insider. “The talk of the party was that they were an item.”

Another source at the bash revealed friends were stunned to see Bill and Arianna had become a couple, but she told them in her Greek accent: “Darling, the man is smart!”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, February 22, 2010]

Reasons why I don’t believe it: Bill can “swear off” as many 20-something models as he wants, but the man has a type, and Arianna isn’t it. Also, I don’t believe it because they would make too much sense together. It just seems too perfect. Like, of course Maher would eventually come to his senses and realize the perfect woman for him is a woman with brains and attitude, like Arianna (who, by the way, I think is sexier than twenty Playboy models). And of course she would love him too, et cetera. The real world doesn’t work like that. Anyway, I think this whole story was based on the Enquirer getting a photo of the two of them together. That’s basically it.

Brad Pitt on Bill Maher Part 1: Mostly about Make It Right NOLA, architecture

Brad Pitt on Bill Maher Part 2: Religion & smoking weed

To promote Inglourious Basterds, Brad Pitt stopped by Real Time with Bill Maher Friday night. Brad barely spoke about the film, though, instead taking some time to talk about marijuana, politics, religion, and Make It Right NOLA. You Tube has the interview in two parts, above. The first half of the interview is mostly about New Orleans and architecture, Part 2 is about religion and smoking the reefer.

One of my favorite parts of the interview was when Maher asked Brad about his recent comments to Ann Curry, that he doesn’t “have a chance” if he decided to run for New Orleans mayor, because his platform would include “gay marriage, no religion, legalization and taxation of marijuana platform.” Brad told more to Maher:

Bill Maher: What is about religion that you don’t like?
Brad Pitt: I grew up in a religious family, in a religious community, and it just doesn’t make sense … for me. It doesn’t work for me in the long run. I never wanted to step on anyone else’s religion, beliefs, that’s what’s great about our country, until I started seeing it defining policy. Like gay marriage. You have a group of people telling other people how to live their lives, and you can’t do that. In fact, I’m talking like there are actually Christians watching your show…
Maher: No, there are. You’d be surprised.
Pitt: Well, to the three that are watching, I just say you have to, you really have to check what country you’re living in because the freedom that allows you to practice religion is the same freedom you’re stepping on. That’s not right. And I want to add… if there was a nation of gay married couples that were telling you you couldn’t practice your religion, I’d be speaking up for you, too… So, let’s stop the nonsense.

[Transcribed from Real Time with Bill Maher]

Also, when Bill Maher tells a story about how he and Brad were at a New Year’s party years ago, Bill saw Brad rolling “the most perfect” joints he had ever seen. Brad joked, “I’m an artist!” Maher asks why Brad gave up smoking weed, as Brad admitted to in his recent Parade interview, and Brad replied, “I’m a dad now. You want to be alert and my eyes used to glaze over when I did that.”

It was an interesting interview, and I was happily surprised by how much respect Maher and Pitt seemed to have for each other. Bill Maher is not a man who tolerates fools, and he seemed happy enough to let Brad talk for five minutes about Make It Right NOLA, and both Pitt and Maher seemed to hold back from making some harsh comments about various politicians. Maher did roll his eyes and groan a little when Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s name was mentioned, but Brad tamped it down.

I don’t normally watch “Real Time with Bill Maher” if for no other reason than I watch about 23 other political shows a week and he’s hard to fit into my jam-packed schedule. But I know the guy is good, if a little feisty. I just didn’t realize how feisty. Some 9/11 activists got into Maher’s audience while smuggling in signs under their shirts. During filming for the live show, one of them started screaming something about 9/11 being a conspiracy, and interrupted the panelists. Maher told the guy to shut up, but he did it a few more times until Maher finally asked, “Don’t we have any f****** security here?” The guy was taken away – but not before Maher, clearly pretty angry at this point – ran into the audience and helped take the guy out.

Bill Maher can add “security guard” to his job description alongside comedian and political commentator. Maher on Friday night helped security remove a rowdy protester from the studio during his weekly HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher,” and it was all captured on live television. Maher was talking science during one of his weekly panel discussions when a protester in his audience stood up, held up a smuggled-in sign reading “9/11 is a cover up fraud” and shouted comments to the same effect.

The host tried to shout down the audience member, who only became more agitated. “Do we have some (expletive) security in this building,” Maher yelled, “or do I have to come down there and kick his (expletive)?” When security reached the man’s aisle and the man resisted leaving, Maher ran into the seats and helped them push him out the door, shouting “Out! Out! Out!” Several other protesters, sprinkled throughout the audience, then stood up and shouted. “This isn’t the Iowa Caucus, OK, we’re not here to debate,” Maher shouted with most of his audience cheering him on. “This is the problem with live television.”

After the instigators were ejected, Maher told his panelists — MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Los Angeles Times columnist Joel Stein and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson — that they often linger outside his studio to share 9/11 conspiracy theories with him and try to get into the show. “It’s the only time I defend Bush,” he said.

[From the Associated Press]

My favorite quote from the night? Maher telling the conspiracy guys to be quiet, noting, “You’re in the audience. Audience comes from the Latin, ‘to listen.’” That really is the issue with live television – you just can’t control for all the variables. Sure you can work to make sure the lights don’t fail and the guests have enough water – but you never know when a total crazy will rip off all his clothes and make a beeline for the stage. One day… here’s hoping.

Is Steve Irwin fair dinkum game now that he’s been dead over a month? Controversial liberal talkshow host Bill Maher and the creators of South Park think so. Maher donned a tasteless Halloween costume featuring a red wig and sleevless khaki shirt with a stingray’s tail sticking out of his chest complete with fake blood. It’s a clever idea for a costume but it seems like a cruel stunt for a famous person to pull so soon after Irwin’s death.

Meanwhile South Park has parodied Irwin’s accidental death by showing the daredevil crocodile hunter as a Halloween party guest with a stingray’s barb sticking out of his chest. Irwin’s widow Terri is said to be devastated by the episode and hopes her young children never see it:

Terri, 42, is said to be worried that Irwin’s children BINDI, eight, and BOB, two, will see the show, which portrays the late star with a stingray sticking out of his chest less than two months after he died. Last night (27OCT06), Australian TV channel SBS said it is planning to air the episode in Australia next year (07) or in 2008. It has already been shown in the US. A friend of Irwin’s widow says, “Terri is devastated Steve is being mocked in such a cruel way. Her worry is that Bindi and Bob will see it and break down. “Steve had as big a sense of humour as anyone, but this goes too far too soon.” British TV naturalist MARK AMEY, 44, who worked alongside Irwin, backed the sentiments, saying, “My message to people is don’t watch the show. It’s distasteful s**t. Let’s hope none of Steve’s fans who keep poisonous animals happen to find the addresses of those behind the show and leave them a nice surprise.”

[via Fark]

Irwin is shown in South Park as a guy at Satan’s Halloween party who is mistaken for someone wearing a costume. In this clip, which I’m pretty sure is the one that’s referred to in the story, Irwin is chastized by Satan for daring to mock the accident so soon after it happened. He then says he’s the real Steve Irwin and Satan kicks him out for not having a costume. That’s obnoxious, but that’s how South Park is and they’re basically admitting that it’s tasteless.

Irwin was parodied in South Park while he was alive (link leads to video on YouTube) in an episode that aired in the second season.