Bill Maher stated that actor Ben Affleck has declined invitations to appear on Maher's HBO show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," for nearly a decade following a contentious on-air debate about Islam. The exchange occurred in 2014 when Affleck was promoting his film "Gone Girl."
During the 2014 broadcast, which also featured author Sam Harris, journalist Nicholas Kristof, and politician Michael Steele, Maher characterized radical Islam as "the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will fucking kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book." Affleck, alongside others on the panel, called Maher and Harris's points "gross," "racist," and "so nuts."
Maher discussed the lingering impact of the debate in a recent episode of his "Club Random" podcast with comedian Max Amini. "I love him, but we just are gonna disagree on that one," Maher said of Affleck, noting the actor "hasn’t come to the show since." Maher added that he asks Affleck to return every year.
"You know, if I talked to him privately, it’s been 12 years. Maybe — I think there’s a middle ground," Maher mused on the podcast. He suggested that the exchange, while emotional, was what audiences often responded to. "For some reason, it got emotional. And that’s what people love."
Maher also reflected on the visibility of the particular episode, stating, "More people mentioned that episode to me than anything." He described the incident as "not the best episode we ever had, but it got emotional with a movie star. That’s America."