Bill Maher is no stranger to controversy. Now, the talk show host is getting flack for his statements regarding sex workers.
On August 19th, there was an announcement that OnlyFans would be banning "sexually explicit conduct" from their website beginning on October 1st, due to pressure from banks. In particular, Mastercard is adopting stricter guidelines surrounding the sellers of adult content. However, OnlyFans decided to reverse their decision this week and continue to allow adult content on their platform. The news was applauded by their users and content creators, who earn money from the platform.
Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher, decided to chime in with the following statement during his show:
"Let’s end with some good news…OnlyFans is staying in the porn business. That’s right. Last week, I was just in this spot reporting that they’re getting out of the porn business; now, they’re staying in because their fans would not take it. Their fans went nuts. Boy, if there’s one thing millennials love more than canceling the patriarchy it’s women having sex for money. That’s the interesting thing.”
His comment implied that he believes women having sex for money is anti-feminist and that women couldn't possibly enjoy doing sex work.
The comments seemed odd to many, especially social media users, who recalled that Maher has dated sex workers and has hired them in the past. In particular, adult star Teanna Trump has recounted how Maher paid her to have sex with him. He has also dated Karine Steffans, a popular video vixen and stripper.
Many Twitter users called him out for this.
Others called him out for his comments and his simplistic ideas.
Maher has been making headlines for his controversial statements on his show. In June, Twitter users called for him to be cancelled after he spoke to Lin-Manuel Miranda about cancel culture and why he shouldn't apologize for the lack of diversity in his film, In The Heights. He also received flack from Tiffany Cross, who roasted him for his racism.
Maher has yet to address the fact that he has hired sex workers in the past.