Another day in the world, another man takes a cheap swipe at a successful woman. This time, it’s Bill Maher having a go at arguably the most culturally powerful woman of our time, Taylor Swift.
Maher, who hosts the popular political show Real Time tried to wriggle his way into the frontal cortex of Swifties by attacking their beloved pop star. And wriggle successfully he did. Because his comments are now the crux of this op-ed. Let’s break down two things here: what he said, and the significance of the context in which he said it.
What did he say?
Maher’s conversation partner was a 21-year old named Hailey Welch who shot to internet fame last month after her very meme-able and TikTok-esque response to a sexually charged question during a street interview.
Asked “What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?” Welch imitated a man spitting into a spittoon, making the sound “Hawk tuah” (we’re all adults here…you get what she’s trying to say). Thereafter, she was christened with the lovely title of “Hawk Tuah Girl”.
Maher, 68, invited Welch as a guest of his podcast Club Random and at the 30-minute mark, brought up the topic of music and specifically Taylor Swift.
After agreeing with his guest that some of Swift’s (older) songs are enjoyable, Maher launches off by saying: “You know, I mean, I don’t know. Look, I’m sure she is a lovely person — but — the whole thing with the football player just like, I just felt like, 35 is a little old to be like, [he puts on a voice] My boyfriend’s a footfall player. And I wore his jersey to the game with his number on it.”
“Right? I mean, come on,” he adds, trying to get Welch to agree with him.
She doesn’t take the bait. Instead, she does the dignified thing and replies: “Whatever makes her happy. If that’s what she wants to do and it makes her happy, it ain’t got nothin’ to do with me.”
Unsatisfied by this response, Maher doubles down.
“He’s gonna dump her, you know,” he says.
Welch responds, “Now I’m gonna be a Travis Kelce hater”, clearly showing her solidarity with the singer.
Maher continues, “With her, it’s like the Gatorade at the Super Bowl, you know you’re gonna get dumped,” referring to the NFL tradition of the winning team pouring Gatorade over their head coach. “You just don’t know when.”
Maher then goes on to ponder aloud Swift’s Eras Tour and the songs that were performed: “Is she still singing about that?” he asks, referring to her break-up songs.
“I think it’s very tacky,” he says. “But it does seem like a recurrent theme. At some point you just wanna say, maybe you should write a song called ‘Maybe It’s Me.’”
(Which she has. It’s called Anti-Hero).
Which brings me to the second part of this article.
Why is this interview so uncomfortable?
From the moment the interview begins, I feel the familiar irk of being in the company of an older man who refuses to understand boundaries.
“I’m sure you’re nervous but you don’t seem like you are,” Maher says, sitting down and extracting a marijuana joint like he’s trying to be James Bond.
It’s a classic move made by certain men who feel that the only way to converse with women is by putting them down. “If you pay close attention today, you will come out here really with a lot of knowledge.”
(Is this a conversation or a lecture?)
“Every kid your age wants to be famous,” he continues. “Suddenly, the sword came down and they tapped you on the shoulder…and you were given this amazing chip and you can now trade that chip in, fame is like this huge chip you’ve been given – the key thing now is; for what?”
“This is why you should be listening very closely today, coz you’re going to get a lot of good advice.”
Maher admits to being high while interviewing his guest, adding: “You’re 21, right? We can speak freely…and it’s legal, we’re not doing anything wrong.” (This is the line where my face scrunched up to resemble a destained fruit…)
“I would always advise using any sort of legal substance responsibly and in moderation,” he says.
These men play on the insecurities of the women they speak with. In this case, Maher keeps reminding Welch of her age.
Men like Maher point out something they have which their female counterparts don’t (in Welch’s case, number of years spent on earth) or what they perceive as obvious deficiencies.
Maher on Michael Jackson: [He’s an] unconventional babysitter.
Welch: (pauses, then laughs) Where do you come up with this shit?
Maher: Where do I come up with this shit? You are adorable.
Is he trying to flirt with her? Impart unfounded and offensive opinions? All of the above? No matter what, there’s a sour taste in watching him do it.