Bill Maher Mocks Matt Gaetz Over Scandal During Heated Podcast Debate
(Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Electric Entertainment, Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher took aim at former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on his Club Random with Bill Maher podcast, mocking the congressman about reports of his alleged payments to young women for sex.
The conversation, which began as a debate over former President Donald Trump’s proposal to purchase Greenland, quickly turned into a verbal sparring match. “Annexing Greenland and parts of the Panama Canal?” Gaetz said during the discussion. “Sure, if it’s a deal, that makes sense.” “But we don’t own them,” Maher countered.
Gaetz defended Trump’s controversial idea, calling it “a real estate transaction.” Maher pressed further, asking, “So you would agree that Denmark has to agree to it? We’re not just going to take it.” The people of Greenland, I think, would be the most dispositive voice,” Gaetz replied.
Maher shot back, “Okay, so we can go over the head of the government. What about, can we do that here? If some other foreign country came and asked the people of this country, do you want free blowjobs, we could just do that?” Gaetz, known for his provocative remarks, quipped, “It would be a compelling offer. Some would say more compelling.”
At that point, Maher took a sharp dig at Gaetz, referencing the congressman’s reported sex scandal. “There’s the Matt I heard about,” Maher joked. “I don’t know what you heard about me. Remember that one? But a b—- can’t get a dollar out of me. Well, that doesn’t apply to you. Sorry, I didn’t mean to go there.”
Gaetz attempted to deflect, comparing his situation to sports commentator Skip Bayless, who had faced accusations of offering $1.5 million to a former Fox Sports hairstylist for sex. “Way less than Skip Bayless, I would suggest,” Gaetz said, referring to reports that he allegedly paid $90,000 to multiple women, including a 17-year-old girl.
Gaetz then pivoted, claiming that in many cases, young women exploit older men in so-called “sugar daddy” relationships. “What is so under-told in the sugar daddy, sugar baby dynamic is who’s taking advantage of who?” Gaetz argued. “A lot of these guys… they get into some young p—- that they hadn’t been in before, and they will do anything.”
He added, “They’ll give up their family, their house, their money. Are you saying they’re the ones leveraging the power dynamic more than someone who quite literally has them by the balls?” Maher’s jabs and Gaetz’s controversial remarks fueled heated reactions online, with critics and supporters weighing in on the polarizing exchange.
