Bill Maher recently shared a candid critique of the very cable network that broadcasts his show each week.
During the ‘Overtime’ segment of his latest Real Time episode, Maher reflected on the impact of Ted Turner, who passed away on Wednesday.
This reflection led Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat, to comment that ‘opinions are not news,’ describing the current state of cable news as ‘slop.’
Maher, while still identifying as ‘a fan of CNN,’ agreed with Fetterman’s harsh evaluation.
‘There’s too much opinion,’ Maher remarked.
He reminisced about the early days of CNN, saying, ‘When CNN first launched, you could rely on it to deliver just the story whenever you tuned in.’
CNN airs the latest episode of Maher’s Real Time show every Saturday night at 8pm, one day after premiering on HBO.
Both networks are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which is being sold to Paramount Skydance for approximately $111 billion.
Late night host and comedian Bill Maher said that CNN had ‘too much opinion,’ as he commented on modern news coverage during his most recent show
Maher was responding to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat, who said ‘opinions are not news’ and had described contemporary cable news as ‘slop’
While appearing on Maher’s show, Fetterman urged CNN to focus on ‘real news and the real dynamic there’ rather than ‘countless’ opinions.
‘There are so many s***ty takes out there in the world now,’ Fetterman said, causing the audience to erupt in applause.
‘Why are people still talking about Tucker Carlson? Or any of these people? Now, even Alex Jones now is back,’ Fetterman added.
He suggested that many networks were now spotlighting guests they previously would not because they were now pushing back against President Donald Trump.
‘Because if they are criticizing Trump, it’s like, now, sometimes we in the Democrats say, well, maybe they have a point,’ Fetterman said.
He pointed to Marjorie Taylor Greene as an example of a former Trump admirer–turned–critic while calling her ‘crazy pants.’
That caused Maher to jump in with his own criticism of CNN and leave no questions about what type of coverage he sought going forward.
‘Get the news,’ Maher said. ‘That’s what I want.’
Republican Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw said he agreed with Maher and Fetterman’s scathing comments, arguing that cable networks would not be profitable without featuring opinions
Warner Bros. Discovery owns both HBO, where Maher’s show premieres, and CNN, which subsequently airs the most recent episode the following day
Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican, sided with Fetterman and Maher, both Democrats, during the conversation.
‘The problem is, though, the American people need to learn to distinguish between opinion and fact,’ Crenshaw said.
The conservative lawmaker argued that networks like CNN would not ‘make money’ if they did not feature opinions.
‘We all know that,’ Crenshaw told Maher and the panel.
Maher, who has a reported $140million net worth, said that profitability should not be the main factor in covering the news.
‘News organizations shouldn’t be making money to begin with,’ Maher said.
‘They didn’t use to,’ he added. ‘They didn’t use to have to.’
Maher noted in March how reports claimed less than one percent of the US was watching CNN, Fox News and MS NOW combined during most primetime nights.
‘A guy on TikTok pressure washing his driveway gets bigger ratings,’ Maher said.
The Daily Mail has reached out to CNN and Maher for comment.
