Bill Maher Blames ‘Clueless, Useless’ TV Dads for Current Political Climate

Dan Clarendon
12 Comments
Bill Maher

What’s Bill Maher’s latest peeve? “Clueless, useless” dads in pop culture — and on broadcast TV in particular — who, in the comedian’s mind, are part of a problem that sends teen boys into the misogynistic online groups known as the manosphere.

“Let’s make the Father’s Day we just celebrated the last one that takes place in a culture where dads have become such punching bags — literally the last demographic group that TV, ads, and movies can still depict as clueless, useless dips***s, basically, just another child that mom has to look after,” Maher said on his show Real Time on Friday, June 20. “Every sitcom is, ‘Tonight on ABC, Larry burns down the house,’ and the tagline in the commercial for every household product is basically, ‘Because your husband is a moron.’”

He went on: “You know, I’m not sure when this trend started, but I’m going to blame the 1987 movie Three Men and a Baby, the premise of which is that three grown men can’t manage to keep a baby alive. The same year gave us Married… With Children with its idiot shoe salesman of a father, followed by an endless parade of eye-roll, short-bus dads.”

(Note: The term “short-bus” is ableist language, as noted by Ly Xīnzhèn Zhǎngsūn, public policy director at the National Disability Institute.)

Bill Maher

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Maher listed the TV dads from The Simpsons, Family Guy, Modern Family, Malcolm in the Middle, Everybody Loves Raymond, Home Improvement, and According to Jim as examples of these depictions.

Meanwhile, TV moms are “always the smart one, the good one,” whose orbit a TV dad is “just lucky to be in,” Maher said. “And I get it that this is a correction to centuries of women being deemed the weaker sex, but how long does the correction last? And when will men stop making me throw up in my mouth with the way they pander so nakedly?”

Maher claimed Queen Mary, Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, Golda Meir, and Indira Gandhi were political leaders who weren’t “any less violent or hard-a** than men.” And he said the “cringy pandering” to women as superiors is the reason teenage boys “flock to jerks like Andrew Tate,” the social media personality and self-proclaimed misogynist currently facing rape and human trafficking charges.

“Yes he’s a huge a**hole, and your kid thinks he’s cool because that’s the choice of role models that an American teenage boy has: either performative p***yhood, or the manosphere,” Maher said. “Jesus, can’t the pendulum ever land in the middle in this country? Can’t we have something in between a complete cuck, who dares not open his mouth for fear of mansplaining, and owning a tiger? The Democrats are always asking, ‘How do we win back men?’ Just be real, not a monster and not a doormat. Is that so hard? … I’m just saying, men, we’re not completely useless. So if you want to if you want to know what to get dad next Father’s Day, how about a little respect?”

Real Time With Bill Maher, Fridays, 10/9c, HBO

According to JimEverybody Loves RaymondFamily GuyHome ImprovementMalcolm in the MiddleModern FamilyReal Time With Bill MaherThe SimpsonsThree Men and a BabyBill Maher



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  1. B

    BlueSailboat

    Maher is exactly right.

    6

  2. A

    Antonio Montealegre

    Bill Maher should just lighten up. So what if some dads in TV and movies are depicted as clueless, and moms are smarter than them. If they still love each other, that should be all that matters. Same if the kids seem a little smart-alecky. If they're called on it and they apologize, they shouldn't be unnecessarily punished for not setting an example to the general public. Let's not go back to the '50s during the time of "Father Knows Best" and think all parents, especially fathers, were always perfect. That's never been, nor ever will be, true.

    5

    1. C

      CyanScissors

      Wow !! For the first time I actually agree with you !! Love does triumph over everything else !! Just want to ad this though and it seems many young people can’t grasp this simple concept. Respect is not something you Take or Demand. Respect ( if it’s Really Respect) is something a person Earns. Now days there are far to many cases or situations if you will, where men and women don’t respect each other. Lastly God created the two sexes ( as that’s All there really are) different for a reason. And Not just the physical anatomy. It’s this “difference” that is Supposed to attract the two genders to each other. Mainly for the purpose of procreation to replenish the human race. This procreation is Supposed to be performed and sanctified in accordance to God’s plan as an act of profound Love. But we humans over time took something that God made Beautiful and turned it into something ugly and dirty. That’s Why we see so much divorce and abortion. Love has been taken out of the equation and replaced with convenience and merely “scratching an itch” for both genders. JUST sex. Love has been in To Many cases deleted from the union. And Children that are a result of the union are no longer seen as a Blessing of the union but a burden to be disposed of. No it’s not like that with All humanity, not yet, but that’s the path we’ve been on now for quite a while. Fathers don’t want the burden of that role and Mothers the same they don’t want the burden either. Sex now is like a meal, no Love.

    2. C

      CyanCoathanger

      Also, let's remember that all dads weren't like Ward Cleaver or Jim Anderson... through the 1940s and '50s and '69s, some men would hit their wives-- and the police would do very little, if anything at all. It was considered a "domestic issue," and most police would just walk away. So eventually the pendulum swung a little far in the other direction on TV. The "stupid, caveman dad" thing was a trend for a while, but thank heavens it's over now. (For the record, I too hated that shtick.)

      3

      1. C

        CyanScissors

        But Now in the modern age ( has been this way for a while) women can beat up on men and throw dangerous objects at them and police will do little to anything about it. The same reasoning “domestic issue” is used. And it happens more than the general public know as most men are ashamed to admit they were stomped by a female. Same things as with rape and sexual molestation Both of those are Terribly Wrong and I certainly don’t condone them. But if a woman Alleges it the man is considered Guilty until proven innocent which is the exact opposite of what our law says. Many men have and are doing time because a woman “Said”. Again and as clear as I know how a man doing these things is wrong and Should get the maximum penalty of law. However a woman accusing a man of something he Didn’t do is just as wrong. Even if the woman recants her story and the man is found not guilty his reputation is ruined forever. It goes back to what I said earlier, Respect is an Earned thing and should be mutual. Real Respect can’t be Demanded or Taken. That type of respect is Not respect at all but simply fear.

  3. C

    CyanCoathanger

    If boys and young men see ACTUAL male role models (whether father, uncles, grandfather,etc.), all the Homer Simpsons in the world aren't going to cause them to look up to Homer Simpson or Tim Taylor as "father of the year." And if these flesh-and-blood role models treat women with respect, the young men won't fall prey to the b*tt-hurt ramblings of Tate or Charlie Kirk or other damaged misogynists.

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    1. C

      CyanScissors

      Respect is a Two Way street not one. And Respect is something that is Earned not Demanded and/or Taken. Both Men & Women should learn to have Respect for one another in today’s society. Dating whether male or female must be a Huge challenge these days !! The only Tim Taylor I’m aware of is the character played by Tim Allen. There might be another that I’m not aware of. But and IF you are referring to the character that Tim Allen played he’s FAR from being a misogynist . Charlie Kirk is a conservative speaker so you probably just threw his name out there as he stands up to the liberal leftists horde. Don’t know anything about Andrew Tate.

  4. G

    GreenSushi

    Maher is an old grumpus and complains about everything. ZZZZZZZZ

    3

  5. C

    CyanScissors

    Sorry but I don’t understand your comment. ?? Who are you referring to ?? I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic. I honestly didn’t understand the comment. Were you referring to the Andrew Tate guy ?? I don’t know much at all about him. Had to look him up on the internet. Said he was raised Christian then turned Atheist, then back to Christian then to Islam. Every group of people has their fakers and bad actors. Christianity has their shard of people who claim to be Christian but their motives are Far from the real Faith. This Tate guy sounds like he just wants to be seen and heard for $$. It’s sad & tragic but pretty much all large groups have people like that.

  6. C

    CyanScissors

    Your certainly entitled to your Opinion Just as I’m entitled to my Faith. The Holy Bible and its center piece Jesus Christ has been under attack for over 2000 years yet it and Faith in Him are still here. Now I haven’t done an internet search on this last comment but as far as I know the Holy Bible is still the most circulated book in publication, though Again I haven’t checked the internet recently to see if that still holds. And people of Faith come from all walks of life, even highly experienced and rated scientists. So I feel I’m in good company. So glad and blessed to be a part of the family of God. Though certainly I’m not worthy but by His Grace.

    1. C

      CyanScissors

      OK this from a Google search: Yes, the Holy Bible is still widely considered the most circulated book in publication. Guinness World Records recognizes it as the best-selling book of all time, with estimates of 5 to 7 billion copies sold over approximately 1,500 years. The Bible has also been translated into more than 700 languages

  7. C

    CyanScissors

    No where in the Bible does it say that God didn’t create More humans after Adam & Eve. No where does it say that incest was the only recourse. You believe those last two comments. I disagree. I believe that there was/is a grand design by a Great Creator. Not just random events that just happened out of a so called big bang. Many religions Are creations of people for the purpose of power and ruling. But I believe Christianity is totally different and the Only Way as it’s the only faith that offers a Savior who Died in our place to pay our sin debt. But HE’s not dead He’s alive and well on His throne in Heaven and I believe we Will see Him again maybe Very soon !! I believe the human relationship was founded on Love. But humanity has grossly departed from that to a “clinical” ideology where it’s All JUST an interaction of various cells. And to me that is So sad. Thank You for being civil !!