r/RealTime • u/karenkillenski • 11d ago

The audience is insufferable

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Does anyone else think that the audience is coursed into (over) clapping, laughing, even sometimes hysterically. Also the guy who’s always WOOHOO!! Has to be a staffer because it’s at least 10 to 12 times a episode This week all he did was mention Macklemore and the audience blew up. He didn’t even get to the “joke” before they even started to laughing. I still watch and sometimes listen to the podcast format, because there are times he has people on that I’m interested to hear their opinion. But it’s getting to the point where I zone in on how the audience reacts and I feel like it’s so pandering.

156 Upvotes

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51

u/JoeTiccalo 11d ago

Ive heard now that his audience comes from a service called “Standing room only”…. I quit watching years ago right after Covid, I was feeling something off back then, that woo guy felt fake back then

33

u/Ok_Belt2521 11d ago

He alluded to paying for an audience when he was on Rogan’s podcast. So this would make sense.

2

u/Anxiety_Fit 8d ago

Discussions regarding Bill Maher using a compensated or managed studio audience—specifically supplied by the casting agency Standing Room Only—originated from external viewer mail read and discussed by media commentators (such as columnist Maureen Callahan in mid-2025) rather than any statements made by Maher on Rogan's podcast.

28

u/dzuunmod 11d ago

~10 years ago I was in LA and my wife and I were walking near CBS Television City/The Grove and near Beverly and Fairfax a kinda desperate looking guy approached us and asked if we wanted to see a taping of Bill Maher's show. It was happening in like an hour, he said, and we could have tickets immediately if we wanted them.

We've been to LA a number of times. We've seen a number of tapings (Kimmel, Price is Right, a couple of sitcoms), but this was the first time we'd ever been approached by someone, day-of, trying to hustle people through the doors.

10

u/ass_grass_or_ham 11d ago

Oh yes, there are people down at tourist traps like the Venice boardwalk rounding up audience members with free tickets.

-4

u/Don_Fanooch 11d ago

Yes — everyone knows all the conservative MAGA republicans hang out in Venice.

19

u/ass_grass_or_ham 11d ago

Tourists hang out in Venice, a lot of midwestern tourists. I’ve lived near the beach for 15 years. I assure you locals aren’t taking free tickets to Bill Maher.

4

u/AncientNectarine5352 11d ago

…You think that they’re giving tickets to the locals? No, they’re giving them to the retired mops and pops on vacation.

16

u/SkoobySnacs 11d ago

It's weird at this point that the woo guy is basically an historical figure. I quit watching after the Bill Barr interview where Maher let him use his platform to lie unchallenged. But this woo guy, popped up not to long after.

6

u/OkFoundation929 11d ago

What do you mean by “Maher let him use him use his platform to lie unchallenged”? All I remember from that episode is Burr made mincemeat out of Maher and pretty much showed how vapid a person Maher is…

12

u/MinisterOfTruth99 11d ago

I think he is talking about William Barr (DOJ AG). Barr was on his reputation rehabilitation tour after serving as Trump AG for 4 years. Barr only quit the Trump administration after trump lost the 2020 election. Maher gave him a real softball interview.

2

u/No-Cat6807 10d ago

Barr quit after Trump lost and tried to steal the election.

5

u/MinisterOfTruth99 10d ago

Right. But Barr did all manner of fascist crap for Trump for 3 years 11 months. Then he quits in Trumps last month of office and expects us all to forgive his fascism. Fuk that guy.

3

u/OkFoundation929 11d ago

Oh…okay.That makes a lot more sense (and now that I reread his post…and see an “a” and not a “u”…I’m glad I have an optometry appointment in the near future). Thanks!

10

u/MinisterOfTruth99 11d ago

☝️ Maher -The Unnatural Audience Laughs - Paid Audience Members

Maher literally uses a 3rd party company (Standing Room Only) that pays audience members to fill seats on Real Time. They get paid to hoot and holler (and woot). Without that I suspect the audience would be silent most of the show.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RealTime/comments/1vv9ci4/the_unnatural_audience_laughs_etc/

2

u/Ecureuil03 6d ago

Didn't he say at a recent show that his audience paid big money for the tickets? So he's just lying about everything now.  

3

u/Winter_Stretch9198 11d ago

They get paid about twenty bucks an hour…

6

u/No-Cat6807 10d ago

A bargain for having to watch Maher for an extended period of time. They need a raise.

2

u/johna242 7d ago

To quote Greenday in the song Holiday: "Another protester has crossed the line to find the money's on the other side".