← The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
Rob Reiner’s Tragic Death, GLP-1s for Pets, and a Team Nerve Intervention
01:18:36
Maureen Callahan is joined by Jillian Michaels, host of “Keeping It Real,” to rip apart a New York Times article pushing GLP-1 drugs for pets, exposing Big Pharma’s total lack of boundaries and calling out celebrities like Ariana Grande, Jessica Simpson, and Meghan Trainor for using the drugs despite never being obese. They also slam Oprah for her body positivity messaging while also promoting the use of GLP1s. Maureen also addresses the tragic deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, and reflects on his legendary filmmaking career while skewering the attention seekers who insert themselves into the news coverage in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy. Then Maureen stages an intervention for Producer Marlaina in an effort to break her Bill Maher fixation, pointing to his long record of misogyny while Marlaina counters her argument with evidence that support her unwavering admiration. Olive: 100 percent independent. Credible. Transparent. Scan. Swap. Exhale. Download Olive now i...
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- [00:01]
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- [01:12]
Maureen Callahan
Hello and welcome to the Nerve at Night. I am your host, Maureen Callahan. We have so much great stuff for you. First, we are going to talk the holidays. Oh, Ozempic diet culture. Dry January. And what's coming for our little dogs and cats. We're going to talk about it all with Jillian Michaels, one of the very few prominent voices in the culture pushing back against this Ozempic mania. Then after that, we're going to talk a little bit about the. The murder, the double murder of Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle, who were stabbed death violently over the weekend by their son. We will get into it. We have also your feedback. We've got a little bit of a celeb roundup. We've got a very special new nerve announcement for you later in the show. And then it's happening. It is happening for real. The intervention that I've long threatened Marlena with over her Bill Maher obsession. We're doing it. Okay? We're doing it. That's it. That's a lot, right? There's a little more. Trust me. Are you ready? Are you ready? Let's go. We all want the best food for ourselves and our families. But it's hard to know what is stuck. Safe food labels can be misleading. Introducing Olive. Olive is the clean living shortcut on your phone. It's 100% independent, credible and transparent. No brand pay to play a simple scan. On Olive looks beyond macros and marketing to flag ultra processing additives, seed oils and contaminants. With a comprehensive database that you can trust. Proof, not promises. Olive recently completed the largest independent baby food study ever. 300 plus products tested for lead and arsenic in ISO accredited labs. Real tests, real results. Moms, has your baby's food been contaminated with lead? Scan with Olive to find out if you are frustrated by reading confusing food labels and ingredients you can't even pronounce. Try Olive. Listeners of the Nerve, get an exclusive seven day free trial. Try Olive Scan your pantry. Make sure you're feeding your family the very best. Download Olive now in the app store. Olive 100% independent, credible, transparent scan. Swap. Exhale. So we are very, very happy to welcome Jillian Michaels back to the Nerve. I saw this headline in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago and I thought of her immediately. She was the first person I wanted to have on the Nerve to talk about this. Gillian, I don't know if you've seen this, but the New York times the headline Dec. 2, could weight loss drugs turn fat cats into svelte ozem pets? On Tuesday, Okava Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company out of San Francisco, is set to announce that it has officially begun a pilot Study of a GLP1 drug for cats with obesity. But instead of shots, they want to insert small injectable implants underneath the skin of the cat. And it will slow release for six months and suppress the cat's appetite. Wow. What are your thoughts?
- [05:23]
Jillian Michaels
I know I'm laughing because it's so absurd, but in reality, it's exceptionally dystopian. I mean, I have two cats, okay, One, one we've nicknamed Squeak because I every time you go into the kitchen, she squeaks relentlessly at you. It does not mean you feed her. It's one thing for an adult who is physiologically addicted, may have some form of psychological trauma and simply cannot stop compulsively overeating. They've tried everything else and in the cost benefit analysis, Ozempic is the best option. Having said that, you can simply just not feed that cat. Like you as the adult cannot pour the second bowl of food. It's kind of that simple.
- [06:15]
Maureen Callahan
It is that simple. And that's what drives me crazy. Because the New York Times here, they're basically acting, in my opinion, as court stenographers for these big pharma companies. This is their, this is the, like, fourth graph. Recent estimates suggest that roughly 60% of the nation's dogs and cats have obesity. Hundreds of thousands of cats and dogs have diabetes. Better treatments are desperately needed, experts said, but to Your point? How about the actual. The basic, free, easy option? How are these dogs and cats getting obese? It's not like they're cooking for themselves. They don't have grubhub accounts.
- [06:53]
Jillian Michaels
They do not. So what's kind of sad is that our pets, there's no. You know what's interesting, I've actually interviewed, because I love animals so much, I've interviewed veterinarians about this kind of stuff. And like, wolves, there's no cancer, there's no diabetes, but really, no, you know, animals, when they eat this processed garbage kibble, it's kind of like our version of McDonald's. Now, I don't blame anyone because, for example, my wife was just telling me yesterday, she's like, do you realize we just spent $78 on like 40 cans of cat food? And, you know, to feed these animals, well, it can be costly, but the reality is that you feed them a little bit less, Go and take them for a walk, get the little toy with the mouse on the end. We have it. I mean, it's the same thing. You got to move them and you got to feed them a little bit less food, and you are in control of that even if you yourself cannot get outside for a walk. I've been lazy enough to take the ball and throw it down the hallway for the dog, you know, like.
- [07:56]
Maureen Callahan
Right.
- [07:57]
Jillian Michaels
Yeah, it's just. But what's. What's fascinating about this, and you so eloquently pointed it out, is that big pharma knows no limits. So the big food gets the animals on the way in, and big pharma gets them on the way out, just like human beings. But we do have the ability to exert more control over this, and we should be as responsible pet owners, 100%.
- [08:22]
Maureen Callahan
And, you know, when I. When I got my dog, about seven years now, I really made an effort to educate myself on what the healthiest thing to feed that dog would be. And yes, those kinds of pet foods, they can cost more. But, you know, you speak often about the cost benefit analysis and to me, having tilting the odds in favor of my dog living a much healthier, longer life, if it costs more upfront with the food, it's going to cost less down the road in veterinary care and medications and God forbid surgery.
- [08:57]
Jillian Michaels
You couldn't be more right. There's actually a fantastic book about this that I think became a number one bestseller by a vet named Dr. Karen Becker. It's called the Forever Dog. And all of these little steps you can take to mitigate disease Veterinary care, it's exceptionally expensive. Dental care, all of this stuff. So you're not wrong, spending a little bit more. And honestly, giving your dog, provided you're not eating, you know, raisins, chocolate and garlic, giving your dog your leftovers. I'll give the dog, if I have yogurt for breakfast with berries in it and I don't finish it, I give it to the dog. If I, if we have green beans for dinner and some steak, I'll give him the fat, the scraps, the green beans. Like it's, it's absolutely the best strategy. And I just think a little bit of effort here goes a long way. And you're absolutely right. Spending a few bucks on prevention could save you thousands of dollars down the road on curing the problem.
- [09:52]
Maureen Callahan
Exactly. Now, to that point, let's talk about our human victims, our celebrity victims, because we've been seeing several of them who are clearly on GLP1s and who are either, you know, giving other explanations as to why they look so ill. You know, some of them look like they are, they are fighting like a disease that causes bodily and facial wasting. From Ariana Grande, who well placed sources told the Daily Mail that the family knows that she is not well. That Ariana knows that she is not well. Kelly Osborne, who says that she is in deep mourning and grief over the recent death of her father, but who really has made her wait. A central narrative of her entire celebrity, Meghan Trainor, who has dropped an alarming amount of weight. And honestly, in the case of Kelly and Meghan, just to my eyes, they both seem to be wearing wigs. And I wonder if they are perhaps suffering a common side effect of Ozempic, which is weight loss. Jessica Simpson, what do you make of, of these images that we're seeing?
- [11:03]
Jillian Michaels
Yeah, listen, okay, I've made this mistake once before, so I'll, I'll take the names out of it and simply say what you're seeing from these medications is not just weight loss, it's accelerated aging or the appearance of accelerated aging. And I believe you and I touched on this once before in your show previously that there is some data to suggest these medications are inhibiting the ability of the stem cells in your subdermal layer to do their job. And we also discussed how very prominen plastic surgeons have talked about the fact that people aren't healing properly when they're on these medications, that the musculature in their face is wasting away. And this is where I would say, like, guys, these are very serious medications. And there's a gentleman who I do not want to name, but because I'm so. He looks so happy, and he's lost so much weight, and he needed to lose the weight. But there is a picture of this guy, and I thought he was 60 years old, and I looked him up, and I was like, wait a minute. Oh, my God. He's 40. I think 41. And he now looks like he's 60.
- [12:23]
Maureen Callahan
I think I know who you're talking about. Okay.
- [12:26]
Jillian Michaels
I don't. You know, and I like. I love him.
- [12:28]
Maureen Callahan
I love his music.
- [12:28]
Jillian Michaels
I think he's an incredible human. I'm so happy he's healthy, but I literally thought, oh, my God, he looks like he's 60 years old now. And I've taken guys like that, and I've taken hundreds of pounds off of them, and they don't look 60 years old. They look 10 years younger. So there is unquestionably mechanisms of this medication that are. You're 100% right about hair falling out. There's no question about that. That is a huge problem. And any hairdresser in Hollywood will tell you that it's become a massive issue.
- [13:03]
Maureen Callahan
Really?
- [13:04]
Jillian Michaels
We know.
- [13:05]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah.
- [13:05]
Jillian Michaels
It's a huge, huge problem. And they don't really understand why. A lot of people posit the guess that it could be lack of nutrition. But what makes people lose hair if they're not getting enough circulation? Okay, that's not it. Stress, Quite possibly. Hormonal imbalances, possibly. Like, as women go into menopause and their progesterone starts to lower, they lose hair. But that. No, to be honest, I haven't actually heard exactly the mechanism for that. But it is irrefutable that it is occurring.
- [13:39]
Maureen Callahan
Is it possible, Jillian, that they just don't even know?
- [13:42]
Jillian Michaels
Oh, no, they know.
- [13:43]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, they know. Oh, no, no, no, no. They know the mechanism. They just won't tell us.
- [13:46]
Jillian Michaels
Oh, oh, I'm sorry. I thought you meant the people who are losing the hair.
- [13:48]
Maureen Callahan
No, no, no. The mechanism that's causing that hair loss.
- [13:51]
Jillian Michaels
Possibly the one I keep hearing, though, is, oh, it's just, you know, lack of nutrition, rapid weight loss. Again, I've taken a lot of weight off of a lot of people very quickly, but you don't do it through starvation. So that kind of comes back to lack of nutrition. It's possible it's that, but I really do think it's more just in the same way they'll tell you it's just that they're losing fat in their face. I'm like, no, that's not it. That's not what's doing it again, you know, Maureen, these are. These are serious medications with very serious consequences. And I would caution, you know, a lot of the individuals that you mentioned that, that you had mentioned, the women.
- [14:36]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah.
- [14:37]
Jillian Michaels
They weren't obese.
- [14:39]
Maureen Callahan
No, they were not. By Hollywood standards, they were obese. But by. Nor, you know, we're losing a sense of what normal is in the culture. What.
- [14:49]
Jillian Michaels
These are not women that you looked at and thought, oh, they could lose a few. No, in no universe. Like, there might have been. Listen, there might have been a few on your list that, okay, they're what, a size 10 and they wanted to be a size 4. I'm pretty sure if I took any one of those women to the doctor, they probably would have got largely a clean bill of health.
- [15:11]
Maureen Callahan
You're so right.
- [15:12]
Jillian Michaels
When you go on these medications to lose £20, £10, £15 like you, you are hitting a nail with a sledgehammer. Serious consequences, period.
- [15:28]
Maureen Callahan
Yes, Gillian. And the thing to your point about the hair loss, the severe, substantial hair loss that is discussed privately in Hollywood, I think that this is when you see these images of these women who are insisting that, no, they are normal, they are healthy, and people are perhaps just jealous of their new bodies. When you see them in what seems to be wigs. This is what, to me when you said, what's the mechanism? What's the mechanism? All I can think of when I look at some of these women, I'm not saying they're necessarily the women that I named, but they present to me like, end stage cancer patients who have been through chemotherapy. You know, I don't disagree with you at all.
- [16:12]
Jillian Michaels
I don't disagree with you at all. I literally, you know, my friend's boyfriend reached out to me about it and he, he was like, are you sure? You know, what if I microdose? And I was like, eric, I can't be sure, but I, I'll send you photos. You know, you're. You're not a big guy. You want to lose 15 pounds. And that's when I sent the photo of the gentleman I mentioned previously. Like, it accelerates and aging, and these people are not coming out looking better for having done it. I would argue some of the women on your list, like, let's just take Cynthia Erivo, okay? To me, her body, and I'm not, I'm not going to comment on her body right now. Her body was beautiful. She's crazy. Muscles and sinew. Like, why would this woman need anything? Her Physique is one to aspire towards. So I do feel like I have a friend in New York who has bothered me relentlessly about GLP1s. What about this one? What about that one? What about a microdose?
- [17:16]
Maureen Callahan
What about.
- [17:16]
Jillian Michaels
I like, dude, what are you talking about? You're a size four. She's like, but everyone's on it. Everyone's on it.
- [17:26]
Maureen Callahan
That's the thing. That's the thing that I find so troublesome and worrisome is that everyone's on it. And once this thing comes out in pill form and is much cheaper, as you and I discussed on the last show, it's going to be even harder to push against for the average woman who's going to feel like she is the freak if she's not on it. And we've gotten to this point in the culture where it's like you said, you've got friends who come to you and who are lucky enough to avail themselves of your very good advice and who maybe have 10 pounds to lose or 15. And this is where Ozempic has gotten us in the culture. We where having a few extra stubborn pounds to lose is a point of shame. It's not whether you're healthy. It's not whether your body is strong. It's not whether your doctor gave you a clean bill of health. It's that, why haven't you just taken this drug that'll just get it done for you.
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Commercial Announcer
Yes.
- [18:21]
Jillian Michaels
Can I say one more thing?
- [18:23]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah.
- [18:23]
Jillian Michaels
A lot of the people that advocate for this are the exact same people that were body positivity people just a couple years ago.
- [18:33]
Marlena
Yes.
- [18:34]
Jillian Michaels
I've seen the light. I will name this one because I just. The hypocrisy is too much. Oprah Winfrey. Thank you.
- [18:42]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, gosh.
- [18:43]
Jillian Michaels
You know, now, like, first it was, you know, I refused to be like, enslaved and judged for weight. I like, I. And then five seconds later, you're selling Ozempic on your weight loss platform through Weight Watchers, talking about how it's the best miracle in the world. Like, you can't. That one made me so angry because it's just. It's like, dude, how much money do you need? How much? Like, you're a multi billionaire. How much money do you need? You got to go hawk weight loss drugs. So it's like, think about who's telling you this and think about what they were telling you just a few years ago.
- [19:20]
Maureen Callahan
To your point with Oprah, she got caught. She was. She was on the board of Weight Watchers, had Stock in Weight Watchers was telling people, but mainly women, to do the point system and diet and exercise. That's the way you do it. Then when the rumblings got too loud, clear Oprah had lost like 75% of her body weight within months. Oh, she's clearly on Ozempic. Come out and say it. Come out and say it. She's forced into resigning from Weight Watchers and then does two hours separately on prime time television. Or at least one was on abc. A town hall in favor of Ozempic and why it's so great. Basically an infomercial, you know, and it's. You're so.
- [20:04]
Jillian Michaels
It's a little more complicated.
- [20:06]
Bill Maher
Hang on.
- [20:08]
Jillian Michaels
Weight Watchers bought a telehealth medicine company that sold this drug. Then she started promoting the drug. Then people like myself turned around and called her out on like, that's so interesting. Like, you did a two hour commercial and you just buy. You know, you're like the top shareholder, one of the top shareholders of Weight Watch. So it was like a pump and dump. And then when she got crucified for it, then she's like, oh, I'm gonna. I'm, you know, I'm gonna donate my stock. And it's like, dude, you made hundreds of millions of dollars off this deal. Now after you get that's. It was a little bit more insidious than that, to be honest. Which is one of the reasons I get so pissed, because I'm just like, if you really believed it, it'd be one thing. And then she went to the hospital, if you recall, for a mystery illness that went on for days.
- [21:02]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, yeah. Huh.
- [21:04]
Jillian Michaels
Now, I don't know for sure, but I have it on good authority that it had to do with a complication with the medicine. I don't know.
- [21:14]
Maureen Callahan
First celebrity who really comes out and says, I did it. And I had to get off of it because it did the following things. The closest one I can think of is Sharon Osborne, who, Who said before Ozzy died, she cannot gain weight, she cannot stop losing weight, and she doesn't want to be in this body anymore that she doesn't feel herself. You're. But you don't necessarily think that's.
- [21:37]
Jillian Michaels
Oh, no, I love her. She's the nicest lady. I, I do think that there's body image stuff going on there. I've had, I've had talks with her about it, and she did not. It's like, it's also. I mean, Maureen, it's. It's an eating disorder and a pen that's why these things need to be heavily regulated and done under medical supervision and given to the right group of patients. Not used as a front line of defense for children, not used on your fricking cat and not used when you want to get ready for your summer vacation. Oh my God, you're making me upset.
- [22:16]
Maureen Callahan
Yes, no, I'm sorry, but an upset Jillian Michaels I think is one of the best. Jillian Michaels going, you know, fiery Jillian. But yes, and to your point, we are. I worried. You know, I wrote a column for this, for the Daily Mail on this rather last week. And I was just thinking about the ways in which our aesthetics constantly swing back. It was in the 70s when Karen Carpenter died of anorexia and suddenly the world was like, oh my God, this is a real thing. Eating disorders. Then the 80s, we swung to the aerobicized figure and the Jane Fondas of the world. Right. Then the 90s was heroin chic, another kind of institutionalized eating disorder. Then the 2000s ushered in Gisele Boonschen who was a glowing sort of Amazonian healthy supermodel. And now we're back here again. But it's big pharma that's helped put us here and celebrity culture with the again. I think it's a kind of institutionalized acceptable eating disorder that they're making billions of dollars off of.
- [23:18]
Jillian Michaels
It is the best selling drug of all time. Oh my God, then think about that. You've got OxyContin. I mean people get sick, antibiotics. Think of every medica. The Viagra. It's the best selling drug of all time.
- [23:41]
Maureen Callahan
That's terrifying.
- [23:42]
Jillian Michaels
Kinda.
- [23:43]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah. It's a good place to leave it though. It's a great. Okay. It's great food for thought, as it were. Jillian, thank you. Happy holidays to you and your family and we look forward to seeing you hopefully in 2026.
- [23:57]
Jillian Michaels
Thank you so much, but I appreciate it. My wife says hi.
- [24:00]
Maureen Callahan
Hi to your wife. Hi to your wife.
- [24:03]
Marlena
Bye.
- [24:05]
Maureen Callahan
Okay. Oh, it's always great having Jillian. She's the only person in the culture talking sense about this stuff. Okay. Coming up, we are going to talk about the loss of Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle. And then we're going to pivot a little bit and do your feedback. Some celebrity wrap ups and an exciting new announcement. We are back in a minute. It's been over 16 years since the federal minimum wage was was raised to $7.25. Company productivity has doubled. Has your wallet size. 1 in 5Americans can't even qualify for a basic credit card. The system is broken. We all deserve access to decent housing, transportation and financial stability. And that is where Kickoff comes in. Kickoff helps you build credit fast with affordable plans starting at just $5 per month. No hidden fees, no interest, just on time payments that get reported to credit bureaus and help you grow your score. Users with credit scores under 600 saw an average increase of 84 points in their first year. With premium plans. You can even build credit with the rent you already pay. Only positive payments get reported. It is easy to get started. Sign up in minutes from your phone. No credit check. No hassle. Over 1 million users and hundreds of thousands of 5 star reviews make Kickoff the number one credit builder on the App Store. Start building credit today and get your first month for just $1@getkickoff.com Maureen that's getkickoff.com Maureen must sign up via getkickoff.com Maureen to activate offer offer applies to new kickoff customers. First month only. Subject to approval Offer subject to change average 1st year credit score impact of plus 84 points Vantage score 3.0 between January 2023 and January 2024 for kickoff credit account users who started with a score below 600, who paid on time and who had no delinquencies or collections added to their credit.
- [26:31]
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- [27:34]
Maureen Callahan
We are back. Now, before we get into any anything else, I just wanted to address the heartbreaking tragic murders of the legendary actor and film director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle, who were stabbed to death in their own home by their son Nick, who was arrested in their murder. Nick is 32 years old. He's been through rehab 18 times. He was a problem. He was a known problem. And Rob and Michelle had taken Nick, who again was 32 years old, with them to Conan O' Brien's holiday party on Saturday night because they were reportedly so worried about what he might do if they left him home alone. He was living with them. He freaked people out at that party. They had a fight, apparently, Nick and his parents, they left early. And police sources told the Daily Mail exclusively that Nick, it seems, waited for his parents to go to sleep, and he attacked them while they slept, stabbing them multiple times and slicing both of their throats, which, to my mind, the symbolism cannot be denied. That is a way of shutting his parents up forever. How and why this happened, we'll learn more over the coming days. But, you know, it's worth noting that Rob and Michelle had three other children. A daughter, the eldest, Rob had adopted when he was married to his first wife, the late Penny Marshall, herself a comic genius. That was a daughter she had with her first husband. And all of the tributes pouring out about Rob and Michelle are that they were wonderful, sweet, loving, kind people. And Rob, as a filmmaker, you know, he was such a rarity and such a gift. He is one of the few, to my mind. There are very few directors, I think, who really can masterfully toggle different genres. And if you look at Rob Reiner's filmography, it's really astonishing. This is Spinal Tap, which, to me, it is my favorite of all Rob Reiner movies, and there are so many to choose from. But, you know, the fake documentary about this band of heavy metal idiots who, you know, I always say, like, on the nerve. Like, someone's like, emotional amp is up to 11. And I'm quoting Spinal Tap. I'm quoting Rob, who is in interview. Well, I'm not quoting Rob, but he plays the documentarian in the film, and he's interviewing. I think it's Nigel, played by Michael McKean, who's like, well, our amps go up to 11. And Rob's like, amps go up to 10. That's as high as they go. And Nigel's like, But ours go to 11. You know what I'm talking about. If you can see.
- [30:41]
Bill Maher
Yeah, the numbers all go to 11. Look right across the board.
- [30:47]
Maureen Callahan
11.
- [30:48]
Bill Maher
11. Most of the amps go up to 10. Exactly. Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder? Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see Most. Most blokes, you know, be playing at 10.
- [31:00]
Maureen Callahan
You're on 10 here.
- [31:01]
Commercial Announcer
All the way up, all the way.
- [31:02]
Jillian Michaels
Up, all the way up.
- [31:03]
Bill Maher
You're on 10 on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where? I don't know where exactly.
- [31:09]
Maureen Callahan
What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you.
- [31:13]
Bill Maher
Know what we do? Put it up to 11. 11, exactly one loud. Why don't you just make 10 louder and make 10 be the top number and make that a little louder.
- [31:25]
Maureen Callahan
These go to 11. And, you know, from there, he pivoted.
- [31:30]
Jillian Michaels
He did.
- [31:30]
Maureen Callahan
He did Stand By Me, probably the greatest. Well, you know what? He did two of the greatest Stephen King film adaptations of all time, Stand By Me and Misery. He did the Princess Bride. He did A Few Good Men. He did, oh, my God, When Harry Met Sally, which really went on to redefine the modern romantic comedy. I think that movie started the. You know, that movie opened the gates for, you know, a Julia Roberts to have a career in romantic comedies. It really. It reignited the love we all have for them. And the thing you can say, listen, I don't care what you think about Rob Reiner's politics. He was very vocal. But this is where art really just comes in. And Bigfoot's everything as an artist, he was undeniable as. And the through line with all of his art, all of it, is that it had heart. It had such a big, open, warm, beating heart. And when you think back to Stand By Me and that scene where the Wil Wheaton character is crying on the shoulder of River Phoenix and you see the River Phoenix character walk away and fade away, you know, the guy, he just seemed like a mensch. He just seemed like a mensch, and it's so sad. And we here at the Nerve extend our condolences to all who loved him, whether they knew him or not. And to that point, I would like to move on to something that we all are familiar with. You know, whether it's a famous person or whether it's just someone amongst, you know, our regular lives. Death has a weird way of showing these people up. It really, really does. There are people in the face of tragedy who cannot wait to rush in and make it very clear how close they were to the deceased and what a level of prominence they had in the life of the deceased. These are the people that you and I will see at a funeral who perhaps haven't seen or spoken to the deceased in months, if not years, and, you know, force their way, like, into a front row at A memorial service or at a funeral. You know what I mean? The ones who are, like, rending their garments now. I came across this Instagram post. We'll get to Michelle Obama in a minute. But I came across this Instagram post from this woman named Nita Sodkurvist. Never heard of her. So she rushes to Instagram on December 14th. She apparently was in the Reiners employ, but she also wants to make it very clear, as she does in a south subsequent post, that she was also family. She was family. Her Instagram caption. Thank you for all your messages. How. How many people know who this woman is or that she knew them? I've never heard of her before. Thank you for all your messages, but right now I cannot communicate with anybody. Please, please. Thank you to give us privacy. Michelle was one of my best, bestest friends in all caps. I've been with Michelle and Rob Reiner for the last 15 years. I've spent five days a week with her, and I was just with her yesterday. Please respect the family and respect me. Right now. I cannot answer questions, but I can go on Instagram and tell the whole world that I was close to them, even if I was an employee, one of my bestest, bestest friends. Bestest isn't even a word. This woman seems a little bit drunk on Instagram. Just my opinion. And then after saying she cannot answer questions. I don't know who the fuck is asking this woman questions. She posts again. And she posts an even lengthier statement about how close they were, about how they were family. It's so disgusting. It's so disgusting. It is a sacrilege to the memory of these people who died in one of the most gruesome. Can you imagine. Can you imagine the realization as they wake up, as they're being stabbed to death by their own son, that they are going to die at the hands of their own son. And I am sure that they tried and they fought for their lives. And this trick is on Instagram. Okay, Now, Michelle Obama, who's still on her media tour about how beautiful and glamorous she is, was on Jimmy Kimmel on December 15th. And she wants us all to know how close she was to the Reiners. Here we go.
- [36:14]
Bill Maher
You and your husband were friends with Rob and Michelle Reiner. And I'm very sorry for your loss.
- [36:20]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, my God.
- [36:21]
Bill Maher
How long have you known the Reiners?
- [36:23]
Maureen Callahan
We've known them for many, many years. And we were supposed to be seeing them that night, last night, and we.
- [36:31]
Jillian Michaels
Got the news, and let me just say this unlike some people, Rob and Michelle Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know.
- [36:44]
Maureen Callahan
Okay. Okay. Thanks, Michelle, for that. Thanks for telling us. Thanks for going on Jimmy Kimmel and talking about how you were supposed to see them that night. You know, again, it's like, I would like to sidle up to this tragedy, and I would like to center myself in the white hot spotlight of this and just make sure everybody knows I've got proximity to the biggest news story going. Because, you know, death is so strange, and especially when it comes suddenly and violently, there are often ghouls. I talk a lot about how there are ghouls in the culture, and some of them are among our most famous and celebrated by the mainstream media. That is ghoulish. That is ghoulish. I would never have divulged anything like that. And, you know, if their loss really meant a lot to you, why not keep it private and maybe make it a condition that you're not really gonna discuss that on Jimmy Kimmel. You know, who was an extremely close friend of Rob Reiner's, who the daughter called the first call she made after the cops to come to the house was Billy Crystal. I don't see Billy Crystal making any kind of public pronouncements about this. He was seen leaving the scene in tears. Now onto another ghoul, Meghan Markle. Her father is still recovering from having his leg amputated in the Philippines. And she sent a letter to her father, we learned last week, one that was carefully worded. One headline said, megan's letter to her father read like a press release here at the Nerve. While we wait for those contents to be drip, drip, drip, leaked, leaked, leaked, as we suspect they will be. We. We have a, I think a bang on prediction about the sum and substance of that letter. And if you are listening to this and not watching it, I will quote from you, from it rather for you. And it is in Megan's trademark calligraphy. Okay. Because what are we doing if we're not showing off how special we are at any given moment? The nerves idea of Meghan's letter to her father reads thusly, dear dad, fuck off. With love, Meghan. Now, there's one other news story I wanted to get to before I get to your email, because it's so nervy. It's such a nerve thing. The New York Times reported in their style section, I believe it was their style section on Sunday, December 7, that the color of 2026, according to Pantone, which announces it every year is cloud dancer officially. Pantone 114201 and the New York Times says that this is racist. I could have predicted this would have been their reaction. And that's when you know the Times is really in trouble, when you can just predict what they're going to say. Vanessa Friedman, who passes for their style and fashion journalist. God, how I miss the days of real fashion journalism. How I miss the days of people like Kathy Horan and like Isabella Blow, who doubled as like a talent finder. You know, Vanessa Friedman says serenity is clearly the vibe. But. But given the recent political discourse, when I hear white, less salubrious associations also leap to my mind. Once that I doubt Pantone took into consideration, but that could be twisted to some pretty uncomfortable ends. And I can guess the New York Times can kiss Pantone's advertising goodbye now. Oh, we have some new art from Paul from New Zealand. In case you didn't check it out on my Instagram carousel. I'm over at Maureen Callahan, writer. Paul put Teddy in Sherlock Holmes drag and he's even got the little cap and he's got his big magnifying glass. And you know who's in his sights? Stedman. Because Teddy is leading the manhunt. Okay? There's nothing this dog can't do. Nothing. Also, I want to say two quick other things. The reaction amongst the troublemakers to the troublemaker, the 71 year old Wisconsin troublemaker who said, hey, I take down trees all the time and you guys need another. You need another process in eliminating recidivists from the culture. After the wood chipper, you need a stump grinder. We're working on it for 2026 because the troublemaker community reacted with a very enthusiastic yes. And I also want to thank the many, many troublemakers who alerted me via emails and DMs to the account on YouTube that is ripping off original Nerve content. We are on it. Nerve HQ is on it. Shame on people who would take people's other. Other people's work, other people's hard work and specific point of view and try to like just rip it off and post it on there and get your own shit going on. It's harder than you would think. Okay, now. Dear Maureen, this is a long time audience member, I believe. First time writer. Anyway, once you said kids who are told they are mistakes even as a joke are traumatized. I knew I could trust you for info. I love this. She listens to the nerve driving 45 minutes home from what she says is her quote awful. Warehouse job, and she listens to the pod. And I'm so, so happy that we bring some enjoyment, some entertainment into your day. Troublemaker Mary, again from Wisconsin. Now, Mary asks, as a cultural criminal observer and investigator, I have an important question. Does it drive you as insane as it does me when people now refer to the ground as the floor? Mary, first of all, it's not a new thing. And secondly, yes. And you know where I got that from? My mother, who would always say, there is a distinction. The ground is outside and the floor is the interior. Drives me nuts. Okay, Maureen, this is a very intriguing. A very intriguing letter. And the minute it came in, this email came in my inbox. I flagged it, I printed it, and I said, I've got to read it to you guys. Maureen, I recently received a call from Stedman Graham. I've known him since before Oprah. We lost contact over the years, but he called late last night and told me he didn't have anyone else he could turn to. He was slurring his words because of increasing death threats. He couldn't reveal his location. But he wanted you at the Nerve to know that he watches your show whenever he has downtime. I have to tell Teddy about this new lead. Until recently, Stedman was working as a contracted civilian employee embedded with Navy SEAL Team 69. In fact, if you watched the news recently of US Navy SEALs jumping onto the deck of a Venezuelan oil tanker, you would have spotted Stedman. Although he had to be pushed out of the chopper and was seasick all the way into port, he never let a little thing like projectile vomiting stand in the way of his unit's mission or his masculinity. Stedman was always a real trooper. When he called me, he was on his couch nursing, excuse me, a sprained ankle, and he said to me, I might be getting a little too old for this lifestyle. Wayne. Wayne says he replied, well, I wish I could help, but I don't know what else you'd be qualified for. Stead. His close friends always called him Stead. You've been walking a dangerous tightrope for over 30 years. Admit it, you're addicted to danger. Maybe you should just go back to Oprah. I cannot. I marvel and wonder at the creativity of the troublemaker community. I laughed out loud reading that email. Dear Maureen, oh, my God. Watched your podcast today and not exaggerating, I had the same thought five minutes before you said it. I bet Megan will claim abuse by her father once he is dead to explain her behavior and gain sympathy. I can't believe you said it, but I'm so glad you did. Hopefully this will make her think twice. Yes, Troublemaker Maureen yes, thanks for prosecuting the shit out of this asshole. Sincerely, Troublemaker Aaron hi Maureen, listening to the show since day one. Thank you. Troublemaker Noah, I have not missed an episode since I am sending this to ask if you would be interesting in doing a longer segment on Jackie O. Because listening to you talk about her is very interesting. You guys tell me you want it, you got it. Hi Maureen. Your take on Jason Bateman is accurate. I remember when he was on Stern and talking about how his father in law, Paul Anka, the legendary Paul Anka, told him he'd better keep his daughter happy. You have to wonder what his wife or father in law would do if either one of Jason's daughters encountered a Jeffrey Tambor. Would they tell him to forgive the guy and let it go? No, he'd have to go check in with their co mom, Jennifer Aniston first who would then ask her hypnotist boyfriend and he'd say, repeat after me, you are loved. God, Hollywood is so ridiculous. Hi Maureen. Oh wait, that's the same email. We're gonna, we're gonna get to more of those on the next Full Nerve. Now this is your reminder to keep your feedback coming. Email me at maureenevilmakehairmedia.com hit me up on Instagram @maureen callahanriter or at the Nerve show and visit the nerves substack. Thenerveshow.com is where you can find it. The substack is both. We've heard from a lot of audience who aren't quite sure what a substack is. And if you're not in the media there's kind of no reason why you would you subscribe to it. You put your email address in and then you get it every week it comes it will come to your email inbox on Fridays after the nerve drops around 3pm Eastern time. It's both like a newsletter and like a live platform where you guys can talk to each other and I can talk to you. So the newsletter will be emailed to you and you've there's all this sort of like behind the scenes stuff. There's original content from some of your favorite contributors from you know, Rob in the last substack gave us an original gossip story that he couldn't talk about on the Nerve about Harvey Weinstein and what Hollywood really thinks about Harvey Weinstein. And it's shocking. So we put that on the substack Tim the makeup artist will give specific advice about what products you should use if you want to get like that Mariem Cotillard eye, you know, so it's, it's a really, it's a fun, fun place to be. Just think of it as, like, it drops in your. You subscribe, you put, you go, you go to thenervshow.com, you subscribe to it, and you don't have to do anything else. It comes right into your inbox once a week. So come, come and join us. It's like an after party. It's really fun. And finally, our next new, very, very exciting announcement. We have something very special planned for you guys. We really, you know, I'm going to say, since the summertime, we were thinking, what are we going to give the Troublemakers over the holiday break? What kind of original content can we give the Troublemakers that week between Christmas and New Year's when. When everything else kind of just goes into reruns or best of compilations? So we thought after Tracy Ellis Ross did her solo traveling show. I'm going to tell you, I've mentioned this to you before. You know, we go hard on celebrity culture and the things that are wrong with Hollywood. But there are, among even that world, there are some troublemakers in that world who respond very strongly and very positively to the Nerve. And one of them DM'd me way back at the beginning of the Nerve and was like, hey, want to go to lunch? And I was like, yeah, I would love to go to lunch because I've loved this person forever, Forever. And she turns out to be just as lovely and funny and sharp and spiky as you would hope. She's one of those rare people that don't disappoint. Now, this troublemaker also loves travel. And we both had watched Tracee Ellis Ross's travel show on Hulu, you know, the one where she never leaves her hotel room or the hotel grounds and thought it was riveting television to have the viewers tour the hotel pool with her. And we were like, both of us love to travel and we both want to do a travel show. Why don't we just do a travel show? Why don't we just go somewhere and show the Troublemakers what a real travel show entails? So the Nerve went on the road with one Belinda Carlisle, who made her name in the Go Gos and then went on to a very successful solo career. She just released a beautiful, amazing album of covers this year, which you should absolutely go check out. And anyway, we Decided Mexico City should be the first. And we want you guys to see it and weigh in because we have a question for you. When it ends and we do things and go places and say stuff, Tracee Ellis Ross would never. Okay. Would never. And right now, again, if you are listening, please go to the YouTube channel and just watch this part of the Nerve. If there's one part you watch, it's this part. Here is a sneak peek of the nervy traveler. Welcome to the Nerve's very first travel edition. Oh, wow. What a magical place this is.
- [51:09]
Marlena
It really is.
- [51:12]
Maureen Callahan
We're headed to the island of the dolls. It does feel a little. The pyramids of Mexico. I'm taking my inspo from none other than Tracy Ellis. There's no place in the world you can't dry brush, right? We got the beat. We got the beat. We got to be. Suck it, Tracee Ellis Ross. Try to do that with a real Go go indeed. Is there a better sentiment? Suck it, Tracee Ellis Ross. Belinda and I are going to show you how to do a real travel show. You lose her. Okay. Coming up, producer Marlena has been spotted lurking around the woodshed. And I know what she's up to. She's trying to arrange an after work rendezvous with one William Mar. And I said, that's it. That's it. This intervention is happening and it is happening now. We will see you back here for that in a minute. Today's show is sponsored by Cowboy Colostrum. Colostrum is the first milk that calves receive from their mothers after birth. It's often referred to as liquid gold because it's packed with proteins, natural growth factors and antimicrobials. Three factors that can enhance your immune response, reduce inflammation, repair and balance gut lining and reduce bloating. They can even make your hair and skin look amazing. Cowboy colostrum offers the highest quality cow colostrum in the US they don't over process or strip their colostrum, leaving it whole with full fat and high protein for ultimate nutrient density. It is sourced from the 100% grass fed cows that they have here in the United States with all natural ingredients and no artificial flavors. You can add cowboy colostrum to your coffee or smoothie. It's simple. It's easy to drink. I do it. I do it with the frother. I love it. For a limited time, our listeners get up to 25% off their entire order. Just head to cowboycolostrum.com Maureen and use code Maureen at checkout. That's 25% off when you use code maureen@cowboycolostrum.com Maureen after you purchase they are going to ask you where you heard about them. Please tell them you are a troublemaker and the nerve sent you looking for.
- [53:57]
Commercial Announcer
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- [55:21]
Maureen Callahan
We are back, troublemakers. The time has come. I forget what the inciting incident was this week, but I was talking to Marlena, as I do like 80 times a week. And I love it. Marlena's the best, as you know. And, oh, you know what? I think she was. She was asked. She was trying to get me to go lighter on Bill Maher, who, you know, we'll talk about it. We'll talk about it. I said, we've got to save it for the troublemakers. And I said, you know what? This is enough. Enough is enough. We have got to have an intervention. The time has come. We have got to have an intervention about your raging crush on Bill Maher. So we are going to watch this first clip and then we're going to bring Marlena in and we're going to do a little back and forth and have her defend a man who may be coming up as the as her next great love. Okay? Bill Maher this is what, this is what got me started this year is the nerve just began to get itself off the ground. His op ed on all the women who said, hey, Diddy abused the shit out of me. Cassie being one of them. And that video that we were all subjected to seeing over and over and over of. Of Sean Combs beating the shit out of Cassie in a. In a hotel hallway, like at an elevator bank, and then dragging her down a hallway by her hair. Here's what Bill Maher had to say to women about that.
- [56:58]
Bill Maher
Things have changed enough so that moving forward, the rules should be, if you're being abused, you gotta leave right away.
- [57:08]
Maureen Callahan
So, Marlena, that was the inciting clip. And, you know, Bill went on to say that you know women. It's basically the implication was it's your fault. If you stick around, you know what this guy's gonna do, and if he's gonna beat you, he's gonna keep. With no acknowledgement of the absolute insidious subtleties that lead women to stay or the factors that include the safety of their own children or an economic or psychological inability to get out. So tell me how it is that your crush has remained intact, let alone flourished these many months. And I love your T shirt.
- [57:53]
Marlena
Thank you. Okay, so I get what you're saying, and I don't disagree with you when it comes to that particular sound bite that we grabbed from Bill Maher this year. However, Bill Maher is more than just one sound bite, as we all are. Okay.
- [58:09]
Maureen Callahan
This was an op Ed. Okay, that, that we. I'm going to be editorially fair to the nerve. We did not pluck that out and make it sound like something it wasn't. That was like a 7 to 10 minute op ed at the end of real time. And it faithful to the sum and substance of his remarks.
- [58:23]
Marlena
Yeah, 100%.
- [58:25]
Maureen Callahan
Thank you for acknowledging it was.
- [58:27]
Marlena
It's his new rule. That's the end of his show. It's his new rule segment. And he said what he said. But I said that I agree with Bill Maher, like, I don't know, 97% of the time. So that could have been within the 3% of where he. He was off the mark. Go ahead, hit me.
- [58:45]
Maureen Callahan
Does it bother you that he's off the mark, though, about the abuse of women and, you know, contributing to the continued misogynistic notion that it's the victims to blame? Because I think what that op ed should have been is, hey, men don't lay hands on a women on a woman. Problem solved.
- [59:05]
Marlena
That is true. It was not his best moment. I can't defend Bill Maher on this one, but that's your. That's your first bullet. Continue.
- [59:13]
Maureen Callahan
Okay, okay, okay. I love that we're doing this. Okay. Bill Maher has Drew Barrymore, who managed to survive Hollywood as a child by the skin of her teeth. Okay? Her mother was taking her to Studio 54 when she was, like, seven. Okay? Here's what Bill has to say to Drew, who I think remains psychologically just my opinion, damaged and quite stunted by her. Her Hollywood childhood. Here's what Bill has to say to a much younger Drew. Here we go.
- [59:47]
Bill Maher
So menopause. That makes you what, 50?
- [59:50]
Marlena
Yeah, Perry.
- [59:53]
Bill Maher
But you look great for 50. I mean, you're still super.
- [60:01]
Maureen Callahan
I think that if you encountered Bill Maher in the wild, say you're at some sleazy LA sex club, whatever, that he is a member of Sanctum, at least as recently as we last checked. I don't know if he's paid his dues. I don't know if his yearly dues are up to date. But anyway, I think that we don't.
- [60:17]
Marlena
Know if they're wearing red lingerie and totally turning him out.
- [60:21]
Maureen Callahan
Right. Because Bill does not like red lingerie, as stated on a recent episode of his Pod Club. Random. But if. If Bill Maher used that line on you. Hey, Marlena, like, are. Are you in menopause? I don't even care to know what perimenopause is, but, hey, you're still super fuckable. What would your response to Bill Maher be?
- [60:39]
Marlena
It would go in one ear and out the other, because I am not easily offended. But the. The part about this whole interview he had with Drew Barrymore, I do take issue with. But not to level that you're taking issue with. You hate the fact that he said that she was super fuckable.
- [60:54]
Maureen Callahan
I actually agree.
- [60:55]
Marlena
I hate the fact that he said that she was super fuckable, because I don't think she's super fuckable. I think she's done. Done so much of. No offense to Drew Barrymore and all the other women. I'm not. I am not someone who, you know, I play for the girls team. I. That doesn't sound right. I.
- [61:13]
Maureen Callahan
You know, Marlena, by the way, can I say this to the troublemakers that the thing that cracks me up most about you is Marlena thinks everybody's gay. She thinks everyone is gay, so.
- [61:23]
Marlena
But.
- [61:23]
Maureen Callahan
Except for herself.
- [61:26]
Marlena
Oh, you got it all turned around. But. But I didn't. I don't think Everybody's gay. I just think that a good majority of people border on gay. Ish. And they either don't know it, they don't see it, they don't want to see it, or, you know, it'll be in their next lifetime. But that's not the point. The point is, is that Drew Barrymore I don't think is super fuckable. So Bill Maher is wrong in his assessment, but him saying it is not that deep. I'm of a generation that does not care about language like that.
- [61:58]
Maureen Callahan
Listen, you and I are a similar generation. We're both Gen X. But I'm going to say that this is why I find it offensive. And like you, I'm not easily offended. Like, hence what I'm doing right here. What bothers me about it is it's in the. It's in the context of, oh, he. Bill is interested. Are you menopausal? Okay. Oh, perimenopausal. Oh, but you're still fuckable. And still are. Super. And still is the operative word there. Because in Bill's world, only if you are of. Of age, where you are can still reproduce. Not that he has any interest in that. So I don't understand the issue here. Are you a sexually viable woman in his eyes? Do you have a beauty and sexuality and a joie de vivre that makes you still attractive to men of his age who he somehow thinks should be exclusively dating women who are 35 and under? Know what I mean?
- [62:49]
Marlena
I do know what you mean. I think he was just trying to figure out how old she was. I think it was really like that black and white. He was trying to do the math. And you know, perimenopause puts you around 50. So he was correct. And as far as, you know, his taste in women, I mean, or girls. Let's move on because I can't really defend like 40 year difference thing that he does. I just can't defend it.
- [63:16]
Maureen Callahan
Okay, so now to our. Oh, my God, you know what? This. This is. We are. This is. This is the final show before our Nerve Awards. We have new content coming after that. Troublemakers, not to worry. But when Marlena and I saw this, we said we absolutely need a very certain something on the Nerve Awards stage. And that will be augmented with related accessories. But we're not going to spoil the surprise. The real reason we're here today is Marlena's intervention. And here is Bill telling Cheryl Hines what kind of boudoir where he will and will not abide. Let's go.
- [64:07]
Bill Maher
I Do not like red on women.
- [64:09]
Marlena
You don't?
- [64:09]
Bill Maher
No. And I've had a number of women over the years that have been a.
- [64:13]
Maureen Callahan
Lot try to impress you with red.
- [64:16]
Bill Maher
Well, they. I feel they think men are like a bull.
- [64:19]
Marlena
Yeah.
- [64:19]
Bill Maher
And you know, if you wear tracks, it attracts like. Like red. Like blood red lingerie. Such a turn off stuff to me.
- [64:27]
Jillian Michaels
I did not know that.
- [64:28]
Bill Maher
Well, why would you?
- [64:30]
Maureen Callahan
Well, we've never talked about it until now. Okay, I think we're good. I think the point's been made. Bill does not like lingerie, let alone blood red lingerie, which I. I find that descriptor very telling. Marlena, I know you probably think.
- [64:44]
Marlena
I think you probably think it's a metaphor for like menstruation or something like that.
- [64:47]
Maureen Callahan
He will never have sex with a woman who is menstruating. I guarantee you he never has and he never will.
- [64:52]
Marlena
Will.
- [64:52]
Maureen Callahan
Just my opinion.
- [64:53]
Marlena
You mean during menstruation? Because he definitely has had sex with women who are of a menstruating.
- [64:59]
Maureen Callahan
Right. But I'm saying. I'm saying I don't think he would ever, ever have sex with a woman who is in any way on her period during that time. Absolutely not.
- [65:08]
Marlena
Okay. Well, I don't think he's with women long enough to even make it through a cycle, so that's probably what's happening.
- [65:13]
Maureen Callahan
Very funny.
- [65:15]
Marlena
So as far as red lingerie go, though Goes, I have to agree with him. I don't like red anything. I mean, I know you think I only wear black and gray and you're sort. I do wear white also, and sometimes blue. So Bill and I. I don't know, I think we're on the same page.
- [65:31]
Maureen Callahan
I feel like.
- [65:31]
Marlena
I think if I. If you looked in my closet and you looked in his closet.
- [65:39]
Maureen Callahan
This is one of the most fun interventions ever. Can we tell the troublemakers about what happened today before we started shooting? So you came in because we were assembling the props for the set for the stage for the Nerve awards. And we've tried to order as much online as we can, but some things are just, you know, a time crunch. And you had to go to Marshall's and. Please take it from here.
- [66:04]
Marlena
I had to go to Marshall's and I had to get red. I had to get something.
- [66:10]
Maureen Callahan
No, say it. Say it. It's so I can say it. Yeah, yeah, say it.
- [66:13]
Marlena
Oh, I had to get red lingerie. And I'm like, this is so embarrassing. Not only am I buying lingerie and I have really nothing else to get in this store I have to like. So I. So anyway, the point is, I go up to the register and I'm just like. I put it down, and then I'm like. It's like, here, I want this red lingerie and these chocolates.
- [66:39]
Maureen Callahan
Like, it's like back in the 70s when a dude was buying porn, he'd be like, actually, I just really want the gum. I fear for the gum.
- [66:47]
Bill Maher
Right.
- [66:48]
Maureen Callahan
You know what? I'm gonna give you this one, Marlena, because. Because of your brave service to the nerve for going in person into an outlet store and buying red lingerie, which I could only imagine was truly mortifying. I will give you that. Okay. My last piece of evidence as. As the cultural criminal prosecutor turned interventionist here trying to get Marlena off of her Bill Maher crush.
- [67:15]
Bill Maher
Bill.
- [67:18]
Maureen Callahan
Explains to Barbara Eden, who I believe is 91 or 96, the beloved television. American television actress Barbara Eden. He explains to her what Only Fans is. And if this clip does not have him talking about masturbation, Marlena, it's going to be reflected in your performance review. Here we go.
- [67:43]
Bill Maher
You know what? Only Fans, right?
- [67:44]
Maureen Callahan
You.
- [67:44]
Commercial Announcer
What?
- [67:45]
Bill Maher
Only fans. What? That is.
- [67:47]
Maureen Callahan
Are you my only fan?
- [67:48]
Bill Maher
No. There's a whole organization, the whole website called Only Fans.
- [67:53]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, no, I don't know about that. No, no.
- [67:56]
Bill Maher
Oh, no. Sit down.
- [68:00]
Jillian Michaels
Okay.
- [68:00]
Bill Maher
No, even deeper. Sit even lower.
- [68:03]
Maureen Callahan
Okay.
- [68:05]
Bill Maher
This is gonna blow. This is not gonna come as good news. Okay, well, I mean, it's a website that advertises as a place where people can do anything. Show you how to cook or write poetry. It's women masturbating or showing their vaginas to men who are paying them electronically to watch them. And it's very, very popular. And millions of women. It's a big thing.
- [68:33]
Maureen Callahan
Hasn't it always been that?
- [68:34]
Bill Maher
No, not like this. I mean, there weren't millions of American women who. Or go on pornhub. There's just an endless amount of time.
- [68:42]
Maureen Callahan
We can stop it right there. I think we've all suffered enough. Poor Barbara Eden. Marlena, you still love Bill.
- [68:50]
Marlena
I do. And I'm gonna defend him here. And actually, this goes against your theory that, like, he only feels sort of drawn towards women that are 30 years younger than he is. I mean, he's looking at a Barbara Eden that he used to look at a million years ago when she was on I Dream of Jeannie. And he still sees her through that lens. So he feels completely comfortable talking to a 900 year old Barbara. Edith.
- [69:16]
Maureen Callahan
Hey, there's only one 900 year old woman around these parts, and it's Sarah Jessica Parker.
- [69:21]
Marlena
That's true, but go on.
- [69:23]
Maureen Callahan
I don't mean to cut you off.
- [69:24]
Marlena
I'm just saying he's like an equal opportunity offender, which I'm into. And he, you know, it looks like, you know, his teenage crush was sitting in front of him and he got it all out, as it were.
- [69:39]
Maureen Callahan
So my counterpoint to that is I don't think there was anything other than his real attempt to humiliate her happening there. Because she represents the kind of woman who in her prime, at the height of her fame and beauty, would never have given Bill Maher a second glance. And he knows it. And instead of hating himself for it, he hates Barbara Eden for it, and he kind of hates women for it. That was my reading. So I guess we'll just.
- [70:13]
Marlena
We'll just leave it there.
- [70:14]
Maureen Callahan
Okay.
- [70:15]
Marlena
Because I have a few offerings for you when it comes to Bill Maher.
- [70:19]
Maureen Callahan
I can't wait. Let's do it.
- [70:21]
Marlena
We're gonna flip this intervention into a recruitment.
- [70:25]
Maureen Callahan
Try it.
- [70:26]
Marlena
Okay, first up, Bill Maher.
- [70:30]
Maureen Callahan
Let's see. What do we do?
- [70:31]
Marlena
Ah, Bill Maher. He's not a misogynist. And I'm going to show you why in this clip we're going to see right now.
- [70:40]
Bill Maher
Here's lovely Nima in a coquettish little outfit that showcases the girl inside the woman inside the stifling female containment unit. It's first class clothing for second class citizens. And it shows off your curves in all the right places. The top of your head, your shoulders, and absolutely nowhere else. Dress it up for morning prayers or dress it down for midnight stonings.
- [71:12]
Maureen Callahan
Huh?
- [71:13]
Marlena
He is defending women. He is mocking that culture for what they do to their women. And he somehow has made it funny. On top of that. Go.
- [71:27]
Maureen Callahan
I will tell you that that is one of, I think, the funniest bits he's ever done. I remember watching it, I think. I don't know if that was part of his standup special or it was a real time thing. I remember him doing something very similar on Real Time. I've always said I appreciate him as a lone voice. You know, there are very few. There's him, there was the late Christopher Hitchens. There is Richard Dawkins. Public. Public figures who push back against radical Islam and the. The ways in which women are dehumanized that I absolutely agree with. But I do hold that you can have a public face and a belief system about a specific group as a whole and in your private world, be a bit more Complicated and perhaps not as respectful of women as I would submit. Those last four clips that I presented seem to be a searing indictment of that, you know, people contain multitudes. But while I love that clip and I love everything he's ever said about what radical Islam does to women, Ayan her cle. Another. Another was a frequent guest on his show Real Time. Yeah, I can't square it. And that is the problem. That does not eradicate all that came before for me.
- [72:54]
Marlena
Okay, well, I'm going to give you something else that might turn you.
- [73:00]
Bill Maher
You're not ready for a woman. You are not. So don't waste my time. You know, we've got a lot of growing up to do, and there are still, sadly, a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman. I think it's a bad attitude. I do. I mean, we said we weren't ready for a black president and someone. I can't remember who, maybe she remembers. So maybe it just has to be the right one.
- [73:31]
Marlena
There you have it. He is ready for a woman president as long as it's the right one. As with anybody, it has to be the right candidate. And he shares your thoughts on Michelle Obama.
- [73:45]
Maureen Callahan
Yes. I watched this and I loved it. I loved what he said. Again, he's one of those lone voices in the culture who isn't afraid that people are going to call him racist or sexist for saying that. I wish he had gone further and said, kamala wasn't it. She wasn't it. And by the way, neither is Michelle Obama. You know, but showing that clip actually reminded me of something else that does bother me about Bill and women in general. So he doesn't tend to have. And we should do this when his series returns. We should do a check of the last season, how many male guests and panelists he had on Versus Women, because it's very rare he's got women on that panel. But one of his frequent guests is Donna Brazeale, who comes on every time. And all she does is flirt with him, which is ridiculous because we all know she's a lesbian. So she flirts with him, she winks, she makes stale, lame jokes, and she rarely goes deep. And I don't think she can go deep anymore. I think she's just flattened herself into someone who's like a media apparatchik. That's it. So, yeah, again, still none of that. You know, his willingness to pull the leverage for a female president still doesn't erase for me, telling abused women that the fault is theirs.
- [75:06]
Marlena
I'm not saying it eradicates it. I do think that Bill Maher may have missed his mark. He did miss his mark in the whole abuse dialogue or monologue that he did. I still know what he was trying to say. He was saying that women are more empowered these days. It did not come across well because you're right, there are like to abuse and that there's a whole psychological aspect that he didn't even pretend to visit in that. But we're not going to revisit that. What we are going to visit, though, is this next clip which shows Bill Maher agreeing with yet again. You, Maureen, take 10.
- [75:46]
Bill Maher
That's what they call it now go no contact. This belief that Trump voters, even if it's your own parents, are too deplorable for human contact and must be cut. You know, like Scientologists do to suppressive people. A former speechwriter for Obama named David Litt wrote an op ed this year called is it time to stop snubbing your right wing family? Where he admitted he'd had a change of heart and that was the wrong approach. So of course then the woke wing tried to banish him for breaking ranks on their policy of hating people who don't agree with. With you on everything. Because what fun is life if you're not cutting somebody off?
- [76:28]
Maureen Callahan
Okay. Yet another bit he did editorial. He did where I said I fully agree. I fully agree. And to that point, to pick up Bill's thread. I'll never fully cut Bill off. It's a parasocial relationship. I don't know the guy, but I watch his show every week. And I do so because I find him a very, very, very talented communicator. A person who really does read and think and pushes provocative ideas not for the sake of being provocative, which is rare in this culture, but because he really does believe them. And that for me is somewhat the heartbreak of Bill Maher. I think he should be smarter than this, and I think he should be more evolved than this. And I don't think that he's there. And I want him to be there. And you know why I want him to be there, Marlena? Because I want him to. To be worthy of you.
- [77:22]
Marlena
Well, I think that I can bring him there because.
- [77:25]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, Marlena, Mar, this is a. This is. This is a lesson we're supposed to learn in our 20s. You can't fix these guys. There's no fixing them.
- [77:34]
Marlena
Oh, I'm not. I'm not a fixer. But I would definitely at the very Least want to be in a friendship with Bill Maher.
- [77:44]
Jillian Michaels
Ugh.
- [77:45]
Marlena
Yeah, definitely in a friendship with Bill Maher.
- [77:47]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, it's working. We're having some effect. This intervention has moved the needle a bit. A bit? A bit? No.
- [77:55]
Marlena
His 70 year old body parts. I'm not trying to be ageist, so don't come for me. Are playing the role. But let me just do one more thing to make you understand. Make you understand. Please. Take 11.
- [78:11]
Bill Maher
Oh, isn't Khalilah just scrumptious in this business casual abaya by Donna the Koran. It's a throwback pullover that says I'm too sexy for my Shiite.
- [78:27]
Marlena
The puns.
- [78:29]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, well, you love a pun. Yeah, I see this for what it is. This is Marlena's public. It's her version of Rhea. She's signaling to one Bill Maher. Marlena is brilliant with puns. Brilliant. She comes up with stuff so fast and so quickly, and it's always dead on. In fact, you named the nervy traveler. That was your name for our travel show.
- [78:54]
Marlena
And you added the hyphen. We are such. See, now, you and I were meant to be friends.
- [79:02]
Maureen Callahan
Marlena. Well, listen, this intervention, I think. I think we. I think. I think, you know, it's. It's. It's. It's a slow but steady thing. Of course, we don't expect. You know, as they say when anybody's trying to quit anything, I know as somebody who quit smoking, they say it takes about five tries. And that's exactly what it took me. Five tries. So I think we're gonna go slow with you here. But I do. I do love the admission that we've now perhaps downshifted a little bit from the crush on Bill to the notion that a friendship with Bill would be a nice thing.
- [79:39]
Marlena
Okay, listen, you were the one from day one who characterized this as a crush.
- [79:44]
Maureen Callahan
Those were always your words.
- [79:46]
Marlena
The word crush never came out of my.
- [79:48]
Maureen Callahan
I never said.
- [79:49]
Marlena
I just said I love Bill Maher. It's like a lifelong thing. But, you know, love comes in different forms. Maureen.
- [79:56]
Maureen Callahan
Okay. Okay.
- [79:58]
Marlena
All right. And I still think that, you know, Bill Maher and I. I think we could be friends. I think we could even share a wardrobe to some extent. I do like his. His suit selection. And I think I could rock a suit like Bill Maher.
- [80:14]
Maureen Callahan
His are very well tailored. Very well tailored.
- [80:18]
Marlena
And I think I could write some of those lower thirds for him. Not that I'm gonna leave.
- [80:22]
Maureen Callahan
Not that you're going anywhere. You're contracted to the Nerve. That's it.
- [80:27]
Marlena
Yes I am.
- [80:28]
Maureen Callahan
Thank you Marlena.
- [80:29]
Marlena
Thank you Maureen.
- [80:30]
Maureen Callahan
Thank you. That does it. That does it for this edition of the Nerve at Night. We will be back on Friday with the Nerve Awards, our inaugural. Now if you haven't already, please go over to thenerveshow.com and you will see a link to our sub stack. Click on that. All you do is enter your email and there you go. You get our weekly newsletter platform where all the troublemakers talk to each other, comment on the show, comment on the exclusive content that is in the substack. It drops in your email inbox every Friday after after the last full Nerve of the week but before the mini at around 3pm Eastern. Plus we have nerve Merch. Grab something for yourself or pick up a little Xmas present for a fellow troublemaker@shop thenerve.com also the nerve is now available on Megan's Podcast Playlist every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9am Eastern on Sirius XM channel 111, the Megan Kelly Channel. We will see you back here on Friday for the Nerve Awards. Dress, dress up and get ready. You will never guess what we're about to say next.
- [81:59]
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