“Real Time with Bill Maher” is known for its clashes with guests across the political spectrum — recently comedian Jim Jefferies made headlines for telling Donald Trump-defender Piers Morgan to “f*** off” — and this weekend will be no exception. The show has booked Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos to appear on the show on Friday, February 17.
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Yiannopoulos is most famous for getting banned for Twitter after launching vicious, racist attacks at “Saturday Night Live” and “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones — and if you’ve seen some of the discourse on Twitter, you know how high the bar is for getting the boot, so that’s really saying something. He was also scheduled to deliver a speech at the University of California at Berkeley on February 1, but it was cancelled after angry protests on campus resulted in property damage.
The conservative Yiannopoulos was also involved in the GamerGate movement that campaigned against feminism in video games using targeted, misogynistic harassment, and though he is gay he has opposed gay rights. But Bill Maher, ever the liberal firebrand, said of the provocateur in response to the Berkeley protest, “I’ve been a longtime critic of colleges shutting people up. Free speech should be something we own.”
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It seems unlikely that anyone could shut Yiannopoulos up, but Maher’s other guests this Friday may try. Also joining the show are actress Leah Remini, journalist and documentarian Jeremy Scahill, former congressman Jack Kingston and comedian Larry Wilmore.
