Comedian Bill Maher regrets rift with Jimmy Kimmel, worries they may never speak again
Bill Maher revealed Monday that his relationship with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel wasn't in a good place and they may never speak again.
"Jimmy Kimmel, he's very mad at me. And I know you're close to him. I hope you tell him that, you know, I'm sorry that he got bent out of shape. I don't think I did anything wrong. We can have disagreements," Maher told guest Adam Carolla during "Club Random."
Maher called out Kimmel's wife in November after she revealed that she emailed her conservative relatives with several reasons not to vote for President Donald Trump, and said that she's lost relationships with her relatives over their support for the president.
"This is the difference between the right and the left. It bugs me so much. My tribe is supposed to be the left, but these are the people who just can't talk to you unless you're exactly there," Maher said during his podcast on Monday.
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He told Carolla that though the two of them weren't always on the same page, they could still engage in a conversation.
"Jimmy, I'm sorry, like, I think he’s one of the nicest guys. I did a mea culpa when we exchanged emails, not about what he was complaining about, but just saying, like, sometimes I am a little brash about me when they compare me with the other late-night guys, and I'm like, I'm not like you guys," Maher said. "I'm not. You could all exchange your monologues, all of you, and no one would know the difference in tone. OK?"
The comedian said that he didn't just automatically buy into "left-wing bull----," and that he never stopped making fun of the "right-wing bull----" either.
"And like, if that's not good enough for you, then I think you're the a------. And I don't think Jimmy is an a------. I think he's a great guy, and it bugs me that, you know, because of what the latest thing was, that we may never talk again," Maher added.
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Maher said during a "Club Random" conversation in December that his friendship with Kimmel hung in the balance after he spoke out against the late-night host's wife's remarks.
"And I was as kid-gloved as I could. And I see that they're mad at me. And I'm sorry. I mean, I was being, again, as respectful as I could, but I don't agree with that point of view," he said during the conversation with The Young Turks host Ana Kasparian.
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Maher continued, "I love Jimmy. I always have. I don't know him that well, but he's a great guy. And we have a connection, like, we were both fired by ABC. And he took my — I had that timeslot. So, like, it's so interesting, the same ABC — I mean, Disney executive — canned us both. It's interesting, the connections."
Kimmel was briefly suspended by Disney in September after making remarks about Charlie Kirk's alleged shooter. His show returned days later.