Content advisory: This article mentions child sex abuse and assault, please take care while reading.
Bill Maher pulled no punches while taking shots at Disney in a rant sparked by the recent docuseries Quiet on the Set that also found Maher surprisingly defending “evil governor” Ron DeSantis.
Maher ended his weekly Real Time show with his usual “New Rules” segment and this week he began it by bringing up the 4-episode Max docuseries Quiet on Set, which was so popular that they produced a follow-up episode. The series mostly focuses on child stars who were sexually abused while working at Nickelodeon, including by Brian Peck, who was found guilty in a court of law of sexual assault of Drake Bell, yet only served 16 months in prison. Clearly furious over this — like most normal human beings would be — Maher noted that he believes it’s every adult’s job to protect children.
In disgust, Maher characterized Quiet on Set as “Scene after scene, clip after clip, of the child stars of their day being subjected to obviously inappropriate, highly sexualized degradation.”
Maher, who’s politically described himself as a “classic liberal,” surprised many by bringing up Florida governor Ron DeSantis to say something positive about him, as he pivoted from Nickelodeon and segued to Disney. Maher stated, “It must be pointed out that when the evil governor of Florida was saying the exact same thing about kids and creepy stuff at Disney — that liberals now find intolerable at Nickelodeon — he was dismissed as a hick and a bigot.”
Maher was mostly referring to those defending Disney over DeSantis’ claims that the Mickey Mouse company sexualized children.
Maher then took aim directly at Disney, as if in a mood to find out how it can be so different from Nickelodeon, considering it’s the other major company in Hollywood that’s built around showcasing children as stars of their content.
First, Maher noted, “A 2014 CNN report discovered that at least 35 Disney employees had been arrested for sex crimes against children.”
Maher went on to mention former Disney child star Alyson Stoner, who once said she “narrowly survived the toddler-to-trainwreck pipeline.”
Another former Disney child star, Cole Sprouse, once said that “young actresses at the Disney channel were heavily sexualized,” which is something Maher also brought up.
Then, Maher surprised everyone by turning it political, saying, “DeSantis wasn’t wrong but we’re so tribal now that the left will overlook child-f***ing if the guy from the wrong party calls it out.”
Obviously fed up, Maher reserved his deepest anger for one more shot at Disney in regards to Brian Peck, making one wonder which company was worse in their relations with the convicted child molester: Nickelodeon or Disney?
“Get this,” Maher said, “after Brian Peck, who was one of the lead creeps at Nickelodeon, served 16 months in prison for the molesting he did there — Disney hired him!”
Enraged, the long-time host added that Disney had him “work on a children’s series!”
The frustration of Maher is felt by all rational people in this society, regardless of their political affiliation. The only people he didn’t call out were those in Hollywood who defended Brian Peck at the time, but he did blast Hollywood altogether with one last jab. Despite the comedian being in no joking mood he saved that one, though with a sad tone.
“For pedophiles in Hollywood,” Maher told his audience, “it’s a small world after all.”