real time Host Bill Maher is launching his own podcast network to promote “free expression.”
HBO host spoke hollywood reporter He talks about a new venture he’s co-producing with Chris Case and Chuck Labella titled “The Club Random Studios Network.”
“I’m looking for someone who’s not going to talk to the point. What I’m looking for is someone who won’t say, ‘What’s the right answer here?’ before they speak,” Maher said. .
The network’s first podcast will be hosted by former ESPN anchor Sage Steele, who left the network in 2023 after ESPN settled a lawsuit with Disney. In the lawsuit, Steele claimed that Jay Cutler was “excluded” from the company after he made controversial statements. uncut Questioned former President Barack Obama’s racial ancestry during a podcast about coronavirus vaccines. In the lawsuit, she argued that Disney and ESPN’s actions violated her First Amendment rights because she was not speaking on behalf of the companies.
Steele had been with ESPN since 2007 before leaving the company.
Maher praised Steele’s controversy, noting that it made Steele “the perfect choice to be the first new host.” THR.
“Like me, she pissed off Disney. There’s a kind of poetic symmetry to that,” she said, referring to her public feud with Disney after ABC canceled the show. . politically incorrect In 2002.
Steele revealed that his podcast was partially inspired by the backlash he faced.
“By sharing my story, I know that others can benefit as well,” she said. “I’ve gotten thousands of emails over the last few years since I started being controversial. I started getting cancelled. People were like, ‘Oh my gosh, thank you for sharing,’ ‘Oh my gosh. It was like, “Well, I’m worried too.” And then, “Oh my god, don’t be quiet, you’re speaking for me.” ””
She continued: “That’s where this came from. I’ve always had that kind of curiosity, but now I know firsthand what it’s like for people to open up and be vulnerable and share.” I am.”
She added that the podcast network aims to fill a void that she and Maher believe exists in this country.
“It’s not even about me or Bill. This is about the big picture and what I believe and Bill believes is missing in this country, and that’s real conversation and listening,” she said. Told. “So since my controversy began, actually long before that, people who know me have known that my number one priority is diversity of thought. Without it, we have nothing.”
Steele’s new podcast sage steele show It will debut later today (March 27th).
