Bill Maher didn’t hold back his disappointment during a recent episode of his Club Random podcast when discussing the newly introduced podcast category at the Golden Globes and a glaring omission from the nominee list.
During a conversation with comedy legends David Spade and Dana Carvey, the topic turned to the Golden Globes introducing their first-ever podcast category. The moment of levity quickly turned to frustration when the group realized none of them had been nominated despite their successful podcasting ventures.
“Did we get nominated? We’re defending champions,” Carvey joked. The group’s collective deflation was palpable, with Maher comparing their reaction to a poignant scene from Saving Private Ryan.
But the real issue wasn’t about their own shows. Maher pointed to what he saw as an egregious oversight: Joe Rogan’s absence from the nominees.
“It was glaring that Joe Rogan was not nominated for best,” Maher said. “I mean, it is kind of popular and it is known. So you’re going to have an inaugural podcast category and you don’t?”
The comedian, who recently received his first Golden Globe nomination in years for his standup special, attributed the snub to what he perceives as liberal bubble thinking. “It just speaks to living in the blue sky bubble,” he said. “Get out of your bubble. I want to be one of you. I am one of you, but you’re just so hard to defend because you’re just such smug people.”
Maher, who describes himself as a “Bill Clinton liberal,” has increasingly criticized what he calls the “wokeness” that he believes has dominated Hollywood and awards shows in recent years. “They only nominated the super woke stuff,” he observed about the podcast category.
The HBO host suggested that excluding Rogan, whose podcast consistently ranks among the most popular in the world, demonstrates the entertainment industry’s continued disconnection from mainstream audiences. “This town is the epicenter of the problem. It really is,” Maher added.
While discussing his own recent nomination, Maher acknowledged he probably wouldn’t win or even attend the ceremony. However, he viewed the recognition itself as a small victory indicating that the pendulum might be swinging back. “I take it as a victory that they were not able to ignore how good that special was,” he said.
