Inside Bill Maher's Decades-long Feud with 'Partisan Hack' Stephen Colbert
Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert's years-long feud has been explained.
Jan. 20 2026, Published 8:05 p.m. ET
While late-night hosts like Stephen Colbert have been feuding with Donald Trump's administration in recent months, the president isn't the only one who can't stand the comedian.
Bill Maher has detested Colbert for years and publicly agreed with criticism of the late-night host being a "partisan hack" who feeds "the machine," RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Maher's Feud with Colbert Explained
Maher's feud with Colbert kicked off in 2015 when they got into a tense debate on 'The Late Show.'
The ongoing feud between Colbert, 61, and Maher, who turned 70 on Tuesday, January 20, can be traced back to the Club Random podcast host's appearance on The Late Show in 2015.
During the interview, Colbert, a devout Catholic, challenged an outspoken Maher on his atheism, which led to a tense conversation about religion.
Elsewhere in the interview, Colbert mockingly referred to Maher as "doll," to which Maher fired back and called the host "Steve."
"Who the f--k is Steve?" Colbert asked on-air. "Are you my third-grade teacher?"
Colbert fueled tension when he mocked Maher's use of the N-word at the 2017 Emmys.
Their beef continued when Colbert hosted the 2017 Emmy Awards. He took the opportunity to make a dig at Maher and his infamous use of the N-word on his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher during his opening monologue.
Colbert began the joke by listing off Black actors nominated for awards – and then added Maher's name to the list.
"And, of course, Bill Maher. I assume he’s Black because he's so comfortable using the N-word," Colbert quipped.
Why Maher Can't Stand Colbert
Maher was still salty about his 2015 appearance on Colbert's late night show.
"Stephen thinks Bill is pompous, and Bill thinks he's a smart a--," a source said of the comedians' feud.
"People think it's an act, but these guys really don't like each other – even a little," another insider echoed.
Maher himself has been open about his distaste for Colbert and broke down why he "can't stand" him on his podcast.
"Colbert and I are not friends," Maher bluntly told his guest Dave Rubin, who claimed Colbert represented "the worst sort of partisan nonsense."
Maher agreed with his guest's take on Colbert being a partisan hack who 'gives the machine what it wants.'
"Yeah but the good part of that is we don't hide it," Maher explained. "Like, he doesn't like me, and I don't like him, and we don't deny it."
When Rubin slammed Colbert as someone who just "gives the machine what it wants all the time," Maher agreed and admitted he "wished I would have thought of that phraseology."
Despite the pair bashing Colbert, Maher confessed he would "always give him great props for the thing he did in front of George Bush at the correspondence dinner in 2007" in reference to the late-night host's "anti-George Bush speech."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
"(He did) an anti-George Bush speech in the guise of– it was not only comedically brilliant because it was right but the guts to do it right in front of the dude who's president," Maher explained to his guest. "That's a triple Axel pulled off."
While Maher was willing to give Colbert his flowers for the satirical speech about the former president, he wasn't willing to budge on his feud – and referenced how uncomfortable he looked during his 2015 appearance on the comedian's talk show.
"Maybe we'll become friends one day. I've had that happen before with people, you know, you get off on the wrong foot," Maher continued. "I mean, there's no reason why two comics – we do have a lot in common – but you know, I'll say as of now, I think I did his show twice. I mean it... just you could tell it's on screen, and it's okay. It's okay. It's not like we f--king fought each other."
