A bizarre TV guide “hack” has left Bill Maher on the receiving end of a savage—and very public—trolling.
Viewers tuning into Saturday’s CNN re-run of Real Time With Bill Maher were met with a jaw-dropping show description.
“Three malignant narcissists walk into a television studio; one tosses easy questions at the other two, who are at a loss to provide coherent answers, and at times sit there mute and dumbstruck, looking uncomfortable,” it read.
The rogue blurb, spotted across DirecTV, Cox, Spectrum, Verizon Fios, and other listings, quickly made the rounds online, with some asking if the show description was the result of a hack.
“Strange show description for CNN’s re-run tonight for a mid-March edition of Real Time with @billmaher. Someone hacked into the television guides?”
The episode in question wasn’t even new. CNN was airing a mid-March installment after no episode ran on April 3, which made the dig feel all the more deliberate.
When it originally aired on HBO, the network described it in far more standard terms: a monologue, interviews, and panel discussion featuring Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro alongside Anthony Scaramucci and Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein.
But somewhere between HBO’s press release and cable listings, things took a sharp turn.
Whether it was a genuine hack or a metadata glitch gone rogue remains unclear. But the phrasing “malignant narcissists” is about as unsubtle as it gets.
The jab lands at a moment when Maher is, oddly, drawing praise from an unlikely corner.
Fox News host Sean Hannity called the HBO host “gifted,” “smart,” and “witty” on his podcast, placing him in the same camp as Jon Stewart, while dismissing late-night rivals like Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Fallon.
“I think [Maher] hates my guts, but I don’t care. Him and Jon Stewart actually are funny and clever. They make me laugh,” Hannity said.
It’s a striking endorsement from one of conservative media’s most loyal Trump allies, and a reminder of Maher’s unusual position in the current landscape.
Maher has long been a lightning rod on the left, frequently taking aim at progressive politics while still branding himself a liberal. That balancing act has made him a frequent target from both sides, and now, apparently, TV listings, too.
HBO and CNN did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s requests for comment.
