Bill Maher’s Zayn Malik joke has put him in hot water. The liberal comedian compared Zayn Malik to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and got slammed for being insensitive and for promoting Islamophobia.
Comedian Bill Maher may have crossed a line when he compared former member of British boy band One Direction Zayn Malik to alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a joke that has many people cringing. The incident occurred in an online-only segment of Maher’s HBO show Real Time With Bill Maher that was uploaded to YouTube last week. The controversial clip went viral over the weekend and was blasted on several media outlets for being racially insensitive and for giving a funny face to Islamophobia. It was seen over 163,560 times with many commentators giving it a thumbs-down.
The Bill Maher Zayn Malik joke saw the 59-year-old entertainer linking the 22-year-old crooner to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the accused Boston Marathon bomber who is currently on trial for killing three people and injuring over 250 others in 2013. Tsarnaev is facing a 30-count indictment, and many experts believe that the death penalty is in play in his case. Maher, who is used to pushing things very far, thought it would be funny to compare a pop music sensation to an accused terrorist because they share Muslim roots and a vague resemblance.
The Bill Maher Zayn Malik joke started with the TV host addressing the British artist’s sudden departure from One Direction in March over stress and lack of privacy. Malik was accused of cheating on his girlfriend, Perrie Edwards, while touring Asia with his band. The scrutiny pushed him to quit the group; he wanted to become normal again and reconquer the love of his life. In that quest, Malik gave up a lot of money and became a target for comedians around the globe.
Maher started by telling his audience:
“Zayn Malik can go ahead and quit One Direction for all I care. I mean, whatever. But I think after everything we’ve been through, I at least deserve the common respect of being told face-to-face.”
The audience laughed, and if he had stopped there, things would have been fine. However, he did not, and added:
“Just tell me two things, Zayn: Which one in the band were you? And where were you during the Boston Marathon?”
Maher started the bit with just a photo of Malik on the screen, but as he was advancing with the joke, an image of Tsarnaev was added next to the British artist. The laughter in the audience quickly turned to boos. Maher did not seem to care. Although he is known for embracing liberal views on things like marijuana, same-sex marriage, and the environment, Maher has often shown a tendency to say unkind things about Muslims. The comedian was blasted in 2014 for comparing Islam to the Mafia and Isis. Here is a small sample of Maher’s past attacks on Islam.
“Talk to women who’ve ever dated an Arab man. The results are not good.”
“Islam is the only religion that acts like the mafia that will fucking kill you if you say the wrong thing.”
The Bill Maher Zayn Malik joke has prompted a British fan to start a petition demanding an apology. It reads:
This is completely unacceptable. Racism should not become normalized especially on NATIONAL TELEVISION. Bill Maher and whoever wrote the script, need to be severely disciplined and at least apologize to show that this type of behavior is NEVER OK.
4,277 supporters have signed the petition, but Maher has not responded, preferring instead to go after one of his other favorite targets on social media, religion. Earlier today, he wrote on Twitter:
I always love it when Easter and Passover fall on same weekend cuz it reminds you that somebody's gotta be wrong. (Or both)
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) April 6, 2015
What are your thoughts on the Bill Maher Zayn Malik joke?
