Bill Maher has a theory on why he’s never garnered much love from the Television Academy ― although whether viewers will buy it is questionable.
On Monday’s episode of his “Club Random” podcast, Maher suggested he’d been a victim of “soft canceling” in his career, which could explain why he’s been nominated for an Emmy Award a total of 41 times, but only won once.
“There are different gradations of it. There’s soft canceling. I would say I’ve had some of that happen to me,” Maher said while in conversation with actor and comedian David Cross.
When Cross asked what he meant, Maher added: “Soft canceling would be like, ‘We will never give you an Emmy,’ even though plainly I’ve deserved them.”
Despite Maher’s claim, he actually won an Emmy in 2014 for Outstanding Informational Series or Special in recognition of his role as an executive producer on HBO’s “Vice,” a documentary series created and hosted by Shane Smith of Vice magazine.
