With Milo Episode, Bill Maher Crossed the Line

If it wasn't bad enough that Bill Maher gave gay troll Milo Yiannopoulos a huge forum by featuring him on his HBO show, the straight TV host thought it appropriate to call him a "fag" during the interview.

As an editor at alt-right site Breitbart, Yiannopoulos has worked to create a cottage industry on insulting women, transgender people, and racial minorities; his horrific treatment of Ghostbusters and Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones got him banned from Twtter last year. Knowing how incendiary he is, Yiannopoulos attempts to get booked on college campuses -- usually by the universities' Republican groups -- knowing it will incite the student body. His recent bookings have done just that; a riot broke out at the University of California, Berkeley last month as angry students worked to quash the appearance.

When Maher announced he was booking Yiannopoulos on Real Time With Bill Maher, author Jeremy Scahill pulled out of his appearance on the same episode, claiming Yiannopoulos incites violence for publicity.

So, on Friday's show, both Maher and Yiannopoulos trashed Scahill, with Maher saying, "Stop taking the bait, liberals. The fact that they all freaked out about this little impish British fag."

Maher makes a big deal on the episode about the importance of humor, but joking that a man can't be destructive and dangerous because he's gay is a bit much. In a statement about the episode, Maher had stated decisions like Scahill's were the reason Democrats lost elections. This is similar to the argument some made after the election, slamming Hillary Clinton for embracing "identity politics"; basically, shaming her for reaching out to minority groups like transgender or handicapped people.

On top of Maher's disgusting choice of words, he introduced Yiannopoulos like he was a Hollywood celebrity; joking and almost flirting with him like he was having George Clooney, Jennifer Lawrence, or some innocuous actor on his show.

In the 11-minute interview, Yiannopoulos was his usual horrendous self, insulting nearly every woman that came up in conversation and claiming "mean words on the Internet don't hurt anyone" (really?). Take a look at this misogynistic display of hubris and privilege below, but reserve time for a shower after.

After the interview, an infuriating panel discussion followed, with Yiannopoulos making untrue, defamatory claims about transgender people (one of which Maher agreed with; he also called trans people "weirdos"). Writer and former TV host Larry Wilmore put Yiannapoulos in his place, correcting his lies and telling him to "go fuck yourself."