Hollywood should cancel Woody Allen and Louis CK

Bill Maher doesn't want comedians to be canceled for telling a “bad” joke.

He made this clear on his “Club Random” podcast and on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

Few artists, left or right, have attacked so fiercely the woke mindset, the rocket fuel behind Cancel Culture. Maher makes his living telling jokes that make us think, laugh and sometimes squirm.

And while he understands that some show biz types deserved permanent cancellation, like incarcerated movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, others deserve clemency.

Maher mentioned two of the industry's biggest stars who deserve a second chance.

The comedian says he is good friends with Louis CK, the comedian whose professional career ended in 2018. CK admitted to pleasuring himself in front of several women. As a result, the famous comedian saw his next concerts disappear.

The “Louie” star has rebuilt his career outside of the Hollywood ecosystem, but it's unclear whether mainstream show business will accept him again.

Never.

This is false, Maher said.

Some of Weinstein's predilections came up in the conversation, leading Maher and guest Katie Couric to recall CK's fall from grace.

Maher, who told Couric he's “very” friendly with CK to this day, maintained the disgraced comic had paid his dues for his transgressions.

“There is no consistency in MeToo sanctions,” he began. “People have done much worse things, much worse things than Louie and gotten nothing. There is also: “How long does the punishment last?” ” Forever?'”

RELATED: NICK DI PAOLO – DOES LOUIS CK EVEN WANT A RETURN TO HOLLYWOOD?

He alluded to CK's ability to bypass Hollywood, Inc., even going so far as to sell out Madison Square Garden.

“Can he play anywhere in the world? Yes, but he couldn't even do “that” [podcast]. That would start the “How dare you” machine like he was Kanye [West] with the Jews or something,” Maher said, referring to West’s shocking anti-Semitic speeches.

“The people who make the rules about [MeToo] they’re fucking teenagers, so they don’t make any sense,” he added.

Woody Allen, whose films have struggled domestically since #Me too revived accusations of pedophilia, recently complained about all the ways the film industry has changed for the worse. https://t.co/14DaNGjt5F

– The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) April 7, 2024

The conversation then turned to film legend Woody Allen, unofficially canceled due to allegations that he sexually assaulted his daughter, Dylan Farrow, when she was little.

“I don’t think he committed this crime. There were two police investigations that exonerated him,” Maher said, noting that several stars who appeared in Allen's recent films later apologized for accepting those roles. “All these actors regret working with him…what a bunch of b***ies.”

“It's a very improbable crime that they're accusing him of…obviously the other side was motivated and was vindictive,” he said of Allen's accusers, including his ex-lover Mia Farrow.

“I totally believe him,” Maher said, adding that he thinks there is a 10 percent chance that Allen actually committed the assault.

Couric pushed back, noting some disturbing details uncovered during the Allen investigations and a recent documentary on the subject.

“I don't know, but there were some pretty sketchy and damning things in that documentary that were separate from Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow,” Couric said of Allen's accusers. “It certainly raised legitimate questions. He had a relationship with a high school student.

“I don't know, and that's the problem,” she added of Allen's possible culpability.

“What I mean is, if you don't know and you've been exonerated by the law, then the powers that be in virtue [signaling] the world just says, “We don’t care.” You’re just wrong,” Maher said.