Last Friday, Ben Affleck got into a widely remarked-upon spat with Bill Maher during an appearance on the latter’s Real Time. Maher had chastised liberals for their reluctance to denounce Islam. Affleck angrily told Maher that his views were “racist†and “gross.†We’ve seen this dance before.
Since his first appearance in 2005, Affleck has been a guest on Real Time seven times, frequently butting heads with conservative blowhards like Ann Coulter and P.J. O’Rourke. He also pretty reliably blows a gasket — just like he did last week.
That kind of indignation is what Maher’s show lives on, and Ben Affleck delivers it very, very well. Here, a quick rundown of the actor’s best Real Time rants.
2005
Appearing with Salman Rushdie and Andrew Sullivan, Affleck gets into it with Maher after the host suggests people of religious faith are unintelligent. “People of faith aren’t stupid by dint of their being of faith,â€Â says an exasperated Affleck. “I disagree. I think that’s stupid.†Later, still stuck tussling over the same subject, Affleck exclaims, “You can’t just frame it in such a reductive way!â€
(This one’s not on YouTube, but you can watch it here.)
2007
Democrats who supported further expenditures on the war in Iraq? To Ben Affleck, they shall forevermore be known as “These fuckin’ people!â€
2008
Perhaps a late-night talk show hosted by Bill Maher is not the place to look for nuanced discussion, but once the conversation turned to the vague political discourse around the term Arabs, Affleck let fly. “Arab and good person,†he railed, “are not antithetical to one another!â€
2012
This was a doozy. Ann Coulter launches into a tirade about post-9/11 security measures and how we “all have fingers stuck up our butts to go through airport security.†Then Affleck goes off. “They grab your dick a little bit,†he says. “It’s not the end of the world!â€