March 27-28, 2011: Liberal Comedian Uses Crude Sexual Epithet against Former Alaska Governor

Comedian Bill Maher, a liberal-libertarian who hosts the political talk show Real Time on HBO, gives a performance in Dallas that includes a number of profanities and a crude sexual epithet aimed at former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK). After insulting opponents of gay marriage and calling Democrats “p_ssies” for not actively supporting a repeal of the ban on gays in the military, he calls Palin a “c_nt,” and adds, “[T]here’s just no other word for her.” The next night, on his show, he says Palin and Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) are two “bimbos” suitable for the old television show Gilligan’s Island. “Michele Bachmann this week threw her hat into the ring, kind of. We think she’s going to be running for president for those who find Sarah Palin too intellectual,” Maher says. “If Bachmann and Palin get in, that’s two bimbos. And then there’s Mitt Romney (R-MA), a millionaire. And Newt Gingrich (R-GA), a professor. We just need a ‘Skipper’ and a ‘Buddy,’ and we’ve got ‘Gilligan’s Island.’” [Dallas Voice, 3/28/2011; CityPages, 3/28/2011] Maher will refuse to apologize. Almost a year later, he will reference the rhetoric and say he has no need to apologize because he has no sponsors to placate: “I sometimes called Sarah Palin a bad name.… I don’t have sponsors, I’m on HBO.” [Mediaite, 3/3/2012]