Bill Maher Reveals Reasons for Stepping Back from Stand-Up

The “Real Time” host discussed his decision to step back from stand-up during a conversation with comedian Patton Oswalt on his podcast “Club Random,” stating he no longer feels comfortable performing in the current political environment. “I feel like it was a great choice because I don’t want to be out there in this country in this political atmosphere,” he told Oswalt. “I could get shot by the left or the right. I mean, it’s just, it’s a good time to not be out there.”

Maher released his 13th HBO stand-up special, “Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else seeing This?” earlier this year and described the milestone as making stepping back feel like the natural next move. “I feel like that’s a good body of work,” he said. He added that his specials “basically got better as they went along,” noting the most recent was “the best one,” which he called “a good way to get off.”

Maher also cited other factors contributing to his decision to end live performances after decades on the road, including growing “tired of the travel” and frustration over “being twice as funny as people who were selling twice as many tickets as me.” Though he consistently sold “a lot of tickets” and played “great theaters,” he acknowledged that other comedians filled arenas while he did not. He pointed to his weekly HBO show, which he has hosted since 2003, as one reason and also mentioned age dynamics among ticket buyers. “When the audience is 35 to 45, they don’t want to see somebody 70,” he said.

Maher, who has often criticized President Donald Trump, described himself in 2023 as an “old-school liberal.” In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that year, he said he appreciated performing before politically mixed crowds. “It’s fantastic that I can do a show, and the conservatives and Republicans and even the Trump people in the audience, they can laugh at the Trump jokes, and they’re going to have to,” he said. “And the liberals in the audience are going to laugh at all of the stuff that I make fun of with their woke nonsense.” He said audiences could “sit there together and not break into fights, and there’s no hate.”

Maher’s latest remarks mirror comments he made to Jerry Seinfeld in May 2024 on the same podcast. “After this year, I’m going to stop doing [stand-up],” he told Seinfeld. He said he did not plan a formal announcement but viewed his upcoming HBO special as a natural endpoint. “I could go back. I don’t want to make a big announcement or something.” “I’m doing a special at the end of the year. It’ll be my 13th for HBO,” said Maher. “That’s a lot.”