Bill Maher Should Air Interview With Kanye West | Bobby Burack

Bill Maher recorded a two-hour podcast with mercurial rapper Kanye West. Maher told TMZ he decided not to run the episode out of fear it would further platform and normalize antisemitism.

"The problem, I think, is that he appeals mostly – of course, he’s a rock star – to young people. They don’t know much and they surely don’t know much about the Middle East or Jews," said Maher.

"So the combination of, you know, Kanye out there– I feel like he sort of like was helpful for spreading the fertilizer, and I do mean fertilizer, for this idea that Israel and the Jews are like the worst people in the world."

Maher claims he thought the podcast would be a "learning moment" for Kanye and those alike. So we ask, why wasn't it?

We understand Maher feels a responsibility not to platform someone who he feels spreads a hateful message. However, Kanye already has a platform. His platform is larger than Maher's. 

Kanye's message  – that a secret Jewish cabal runs Hollywood and music with force – is already widespread. 

Maher did not weaken Kanye's message by spiking the interview. He could have weakened his message by discrediting it with facts.

Bill Maher says he fears Kanye influences young, impressionable followers who are oblivious to the facts about Jews in Israel. Fair.

But what better way to undo said influence than to prove the rapper wrong, ask him for proof, and hold him accountable on a podcast that would be sure to go viral?

You don't diminish someone as influential as Kanye West by ignoring him. You diminish him by correcting and thus exposing him. 

Presuming Maher refuted what Kanye said, he did the rapper a favor by not airing the episode. 

Maher's decision will also lend credence to Kanye's assertion that a Jewish cabal pressures influencers to silence him because of the validity of his messaging.  

We believe Maher spiked the interview of his own accord. But Kanye is unlikely to agree. 

The media's job, at its core, is to find and spread the truth. That requires engaging with prominent figures who do not spread the truth. 

Maher believes Kanye is not spreading the truth. Meaning, he didn't do his job.

As per my motto, the answer to hate speech is not less speech. The answer to hate speech is more speech. 

Bill Maher should have run the interview with Kanye West. We hope he changes his mind.