Bill Maher defends Fox News' Ingraham, says Parkland student David Hogg's boycott is 'un-American'
Comedian, political commentator and talk show host Bill Maher, on Friday, commented on the ongoing Ingraham controversy involving Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg and defended Fox News' Laura Ingraham. Maher slammed Hogg and said that the student was un-American for calling for a boycott of Ingraham's show.
Ingraham of the “Ingraham Angle” aired on Fox News ridiculed David Hogg — a high school senior — on Twitter last month for "whining" about getting rejected by four colleges.
"David Hogg Rejected By Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA...totally predictable given acceptance rates)" Ingraham tweeted. She later issued an apology after Hogg called a boycott of her show and most of her show's advertisers began pulling out.
The 17-year-old anti-gun activist, Hogg, rejected Ingraham's apology and called her a "bully." Hogg is a survivor of the mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed, which mostly included students and teachers.
"She only apologized after we went after her advertisers. It kind of speaks for itself," Hogg told the New York Times.
Maher, while talking to his panel guests on "Real Time", discussed Hogg's boycott of Ingraham and defended the TV show host saying: "I want to defend Laura Ingraham. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it has to do with the Parkland kids and guns and free speech."
"Again, he is in the arena, and then he calls for a boycott of her sponsors. Really? Is that American?" Maher asked the audience of his show, many of whom responded with a "yes!"
"He complains about bullying? That’s bullying!" Maher continued. "I have been the victim of a boycott ... I've lost a job as a result. It is wrong. You shouldn’t do this by team, you should do it by principle."
Former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer (D), one of the panel guests at the show, shot back at Maher saying: "Boycotting is part of free speech. Saying, 'I don't want to work with that person.' Saying, 'I will not buy a product from that person.' That's speech."
"Really? All of the things Laura Ingraham has said over the years, and this is the straw that broke the camel's back?" Maher shot back. It creates a "very chilling atmosphere," the show host added.
Hogg, in an interview with CNN, had said that Ingraham's criticism of him was similar to other bullying statements she had made others, including a conflict with the LGBTQ community while she was at Dartmouth in 1984.
The Fox News host had also recently asked NBA star LeBron James to "shut up and dribble," after he had made a political statement.
Ingraham reportedly lost more than a dozen advertisers in just a few days, including Nutrish, TripAdvisor, Wayfair, Expedia, Nestlé, Johnson & Johnson, Stitch Fix, Jenny Craig, Hulu, JoS. A. Bank and more.