Bill Maher has revealed that he did a two-hour interview with Kanye West on his podcast Club Random, but will not release the episode due to the rapper's bigoted views on Jews.
“I thought it was going to be a learning moment,” Maher said on the Feb. 5 episode of TMZ Investigates, “Unhinged but Unstoppable,” which centered on West.
“We were here for two hours. By the way, we had a great time,” Maher added. “He's a very charming anti-Semite. He's not the only one in America who feels that way, by the way. Jews aren't universally loved except for Kanye West. ”
Earlier in the interview, Maher said of West: “The problem is that he primarily appeals to young people — of course he's a rock star, but they don't know much about the Middle East or Jews, and they probably don't know much about them. I mean, Kanye and I think the combination of that helped him spread the idea that Israel and Jews are the worst people in the world, and I mean fertilizer.”
TMZ founder Harvey Levin suggested to Maher that “the same could be said of Hitler” regarding West emboldening others to express anti-Semitic views. “A lot of people wondered what he was thinking, but in Kanye's case, the fact that he said it out loud probably gave other people permission to say it too. ?'' Levin asked.
“Yes, that's right,” Maher said. “That's why I'm not airing that episode, because I'm not going to contribute to this.”
A representative for West did not immediately respond. varietyThis is a comment request from .
Over the past year and a half, West has become a prominent anti-Semite, writing on made a statement. Dozens of other disturbing comments. According to a December 2022 Rolling Stone report, West has been an admirer of Adolf Hitler for 20 years. He recently rapped: I just fucked a Jewish bitch,” he said in his song “Vultures,” and repeatedly promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jewish control of hospitals and financial institutions. In December 2023, West posted an apology to Jews in Hebrew.
After the first anti-Semitic riots, West was fired from his agency CAA and lost fashion partnerships with Adidas, Balenciaga and Gap. Foot Locker and TJ Maxx also stopped selling West's Yeezy brand apparel.
