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But is Bill REALLY Any More Smug Than Other Pundits/Talk Show Hosts?

posted 7 years ago by fletcbk
5 replies | jump to latest

As a longtime Bill Maher fan one of the biggest criticisms I'm always hearing from people is how smug he is, and it seems to be the main thing driving even a lot of his fans nuts.

But can you really NOT say the same thing about Trevor Noah, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Rachel Maddow, Seth Meyers, etc. ? And then just about every political pundit--most of which Bill has on his show--isn't just as bad?

The only talk show host I've never heard called smug is Jimmy Fallon and that's mostly just because he's so bland, toothless, and without a clear point of view.

Just a quick rundown...

Trevor Noah: Dude oozes GQ, "I'm better than you" millennial smugness.

John Oliver: Do I really even have to go into this? Oliver can be unbearably pedantic, and has almost never had a guest--god forbid, he has to sully himself by talking to another human being.

Samantha Bee: C'mon on? Really the entire Daily Show crew is a haven for smugness, and that attitude came straight from...

Jon Stewart: A lot less smug than most of the people who owe their careers to him, but drove me nuts the way he would lecture people and then back off with the "I'm just a comedian" shtick when expected to really defend his position.

Stephen Colbert: Smug by design with his "Colbert" character, but what's his excuse playing the part of "himself" on Late Night? He strikes me as horribly insincere.

Rachel Maddow: I agree with most of what she says, but her class-valedictorian style is so off-putting you have to wonder if somebody made a mistake putting her on the air. She seems more like the producer for a more relatable host.

Chris Hayes: Looks like a kid who's been on the receiving end of a punch.

Bill O'Reilly: The definition of a know-it-all. He plays to the rubes, but he's a NY bully who cut his teeth on Inside Edition and trash journalism just like anyone else.

Keith Olbermann: Even his employers can't stand him.

Sean Hannity/Ann Coulter/Megyn Kelley: All of them ooze NY, Ivy League smugness...even while pretending to talk for "real" Americans.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Not on the air anymore, but she would give you a 15-minute lecture before asking what your name is.

Seth Meyers: One of the few people I've actually met--and he was a complete a-hole. Snarky, prissy, and beyond smug, like the villain in a fraternity movie.

Jimmy Kimmel: Even Kimmel seems to only come alive when tormenting people--like that video where he asked parents to film them telling their kids they were getting presents.

Anyway...

I guess it's all a matter of taste, but I just don't see why Bill is tagged terribly smug when you could literally say the same thing about just about every political talk show host.

[–] LovesConfusingJoy 7 years ago

I don't watch Trevor much but I've never gotten the impression he's smug. But I will say that as much as I do think Bill is quite smug I think the criticism comes from the impression that Bill is not supposed to be similar to them. He's edgier and cooler and non PC. And he just isn't

[–] MGurlea 7 years ago

fletcbk,

The people I personally know that don't like Bill Maher also have never watched his show and have only seen highlights here and there over the years. After all, he is on HBO. How many people actually subscribe to HBO and then how many actually watch him. I subscribe and I watch him every week he is on.

I like your rundown. Interesting what you say about Seth Meyers. Can you give more details about your meeting with him? How was he such an a-hole?

[–] vastuntitled 7 years ago

Great thread!

[–] fletcbk 7 years ago

I subscribe to HBO and watch him every week. I watch Vice and Last Week Tonight too, but really prefer Bill...If HBO let him go, I wouldn't keep subscribing.

Although I like most of their scriped shows, I would just wait a couple years, and binge-watch them all in a month, as I've done Netflix and Amazon Prime.

As for Seth Meyers, it was actually when he was still hosting SNL and he was just kind-of like the villain in a fraternity movie: smug and snobby in an uber-WASPy, elitist way but kind-of creepy too. Like a casting agent could hire him to play a Hamptons investiment banker who murders prostitutes in his spare time.

Now that he has his own Late Night show, it's revealing that he leans so heavily on that SNL background. Every time I watch the show--which admittedly has only been a dozen times--it feels like he always finds a way to mention SNL and seems to have one of "the old gang" on about once a week. I think SNL during his time had a somewhat snotty, clubby vibe and a lot of the big stars from that era--Kirsten Wiig, Fred Armisted, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis--aren't really my taste, and the show seemed to open up more when they left.

[–] MGurlea 7 years ago

fletcbk,

Thanks for the reply. Ya, I could totally see Seth being in the remake of American Psycho. "I gotta go return some video tapes." LOL! He can give off that vibe. I was also wondering if he like said or did something you saw that was a total douche move that made you come up with this assessment. But I understand if you don't want to divulge too many details.