On Friday’s “Real Time,” Bill Maher’s latest “New Rules” drew inspiration from Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, who was suspended for the entire 2022–23 season after it was revealed that his team had a consensual relationship with the employee.
Maher argued that Udoka’s punishment, if Circumstances are same as reportedNot only was it out of proportion, it shouldn’t have happened at all – and it actually made things worse because it was a consensual relationship as if it were sexual assault.
From there, Maher made a lengthy argument in defense of office romance, if only, he argued, because work is where people spend most of their time and are most likely to meet other people.
“Now that Americans are finally returning to office after the pandemic, let’s f– let them be,” Maher joked as he kicked it off. “Not necessarily right on the copy machine, but, you know in general.”
Maher brought Udoka forward. “Now, of course, all the facts about this case are not known. And if it turns out that he was violent, or was physically coercive, his case has nothing to do with what I say is, and he should expect fair and severe punishment,” Maihar said.
“But, in general, it is long overdue that America did an adult review” which Maher called “our war on office romance”.
Maher quipped, “There are only a few places where Americans meet each other in person: work, the bar, the church, and Adam Levine’s home.”
Maher said that as far as the Udoka case is concerned, all reporting indicates that it was done with consent. “I shouldn’t even read about it. What people do is intimate and consensual, not my business, not yours, and neither is that little leprechaun,” said Maher, referring to the Celtics’ mascot. .
From there, he gets into how the unfairness of Udoka’s relationship involved a power imbalance with the one he had an affair with. He said coercion and abusive conditions are bad. “But denying two human beings the chance to find love because they work in the same office is a bit chronological.”
Maher noted the rise of HR and sexual harassment policies in workplaces, which theoretically protect employees. “And yes,” Maher said, many businesses require that employees disclose any and all such relationships if this occurs.
“God forbid adults start making decisions about their bodies without corporate involvement,” he argued.
He also noted how most companies do not allow managers and subordinates to build relationships. But he argued that many relationships are a matter of fate and “seriousness”, which cannot be determined by such rules. “Plus,” he chanted, “when you f—somebody in the office, you know they can stop the job.”
He said Barack Obama met his wife, Michelle Obama, while she was an intern at their law firm, a relationship that could never have happened under current rules. He cited other well-known examples of consensual relationships in the workplace, such as Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, and noted that these examples did not include anything criminal or non-consensual.
“We all know ‘no’ doesn’t mean ‘yes’, but now doesn’t ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’? Maher expressed.
Maher also mentioned ex-CNN boss Jeff Zucker, who was fired from CNN, he and the company said, because he failed to disclose a consensual relationship with his longtime assistant.
“Who are we protecting here? Who exactly at CNN must have been hurt by this unauthorized binding? War correspondent?” Maher asked sarcastically.
He also noted the case of Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles, who began a relationship while directing the film “Don’t Worry Darling.” This prompted him to pay attention to several other famous Hollywood couples who had met at work, leading him to observe, “Who are we to tell people they can’t love, because when they met , so they weren’t co-equals?”
Maher called office relations a “loneliness epidemic.”
“If loneliness is destroying our health … criminalizing a pool of qualified peers in the workplace is not healthy,” he said.
Maher also notes that Udoka’s replacement was once arrested for domestic abuse. “But that’s okay, because they didn’t work together,” he said frankly.
Watch the whole thing above.