Comedian and television host Bill Maher took aim at HuffPost and BuzzFeed during a recent episode of his Club Random podcast, criticizing both outlets as “woke” while speaking with media entrepreneur Byron Allen, who recently became the controlling owner of the two companies.
Maher said his biggest issue with the publications is the way they have covered him over the years.
“Once Ariana [Huffington] left, [HuffPost] became the most woke,” Maher told Allen, adding that he believes the outlet has become “ridiculous.”
Allen responded by noting that the ownership landscape has recently changed.
“Yeah, now I own it … I control 50, it’s publicly traded, I control 52%,” Allen said.
Maher jokingly replied, “Someone’s f*cked now.”
Allen laughed off the remark and told Maher, “Have another drink, Bill.”
“Oh, I’m gonna have a tall one for that,” Maher responded.
Allen then pointed out that the two men have known each other for decades, saying they have been acquainted since 1983, while also noting that he has only owned the media outlets for a short period.
“We’ve only known each other since what, 1983?” Allen said before adding that he had owned the sites for “all of two [or] three weeks.”
Maher joked that he was willing to give Allen some time before expecting changes.
“Well, let’s give it another week,” Maher said as both men laughed. “I don’t want to call it a witch hunt, but, frankly, that’s what I hope it will be.”
Maher went on to explain what he believes has changed about HuffPost, BuzzFeed and what he described more broadly as “the left.”
According to Maher, the issue is what he called “the purity.”
“They were peak woke … I’m worse than Republicans because I’m not pure,” Maher said. He also criticized what he described as “silly and insane revolutionary garbage from people who don’t know facts, or history, or perspective,” while adding that he does not hold grudges and does not even read the coverage.
Maher also criticized the people he believes work at those outlets.
“All these places are a bunch of … snarky, f*cking millennial, probably nepo babies,” he said. “I mean, I just know how these kids who have these jobs… how much they were indoctrinated before they got there. They are not America.”
Allen’s ownership of the companies stems from a deal completed earlier this year.
BuzzFeed, Inc. finalized an agreement with Allen Family Digital, LLC on May 27. As part of the transaction, Allen Family Digital acquired 40 million shares of the company for $120 million.
At the time of the acquisition, Allen praised BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti and outlined his vision for the future of the company’s digital media brands.
“Jonah [Peretti] is a great visionary and has done a phenomenal job. BuzzFeed and HuffPost have become two iconic global digital media brands with powerful audience reach and strong cultural importance,” Allen said in a statement.
Allen added that he plans to expand both brands into free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content.
“As of this moment, with the power of AI, BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube to become another premier free-streaming video service,” Allen said.
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