The 'Real Time with Bill Maher' host tells the students who signed the petition, 'My reputation isn't on the line, yours is.'
- November 2, 2014
AceShowbiz -
Bill Maher won't let protesters stop him from delivering a commencement speech at the University of California, Berkeley. He was invited to speak at the graduation this December, but a petition has been launched to ban him from coming due to the controversy over his views on Islam following a heated debate with Ben Affleck on his show.
The online campaign aimed at canceling Maher's scheduled appearance at the university has gained over 4,000 signatures, but the "Real Time with Bill Maher" host dismissed it as "a few thousand people online who didn't have to do anything more than click a button, who didn't even go to Berkeley necessarily."
"They invited me because it was the 50th anniversary of something that is legendary on that campus, the Berkeley Free Speech Movement," the comedian explained on a recent episode of his HBO program, before taking a dig at the students who launched the petition. "I guess they don't teach irony in college anymore."
"So I want to come. I'm planning to come. I'm planning a trip to the Redwoods the next day," he continued. "So here's my final plea to you liberal in the truest sense of the word college students not just at Berkeley, but all over the country: Please, weigh in on this. My reputation isn't on the line, yours is."
