Radio Host Calls Out ‘Idiot’ & ‘Moron’ Christians for HBO Boycott Over Maher’s Tebow Tweet
Comedian Jay Mohr (Photo: AP)
When Bill Maher tweeted a graphic message about Jesus and Tim Tebow on Saturday following a Broncos loss, many people were instantly disgusted. In case you missed it, the HBO host sent this comment:
Wow, Jesus just f**ked #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler “Hey, Buffalo’s killing them.”
(You can read our initial coverage here.)
As if that wasn’t controversial enough, the comments are now likely to gain fresh traction after comedian Jay Mohr called out Christians on Wednesday for threatening to boycott HBO. During a rant on the nationally syndicated and wildly popular “Jim Rome Show,” Mohr, who was filling in for Rome, blasted “idiot” and “moron” Christians for their calls to action after Maher’s comments came to light.
You can listen to the comments as they aired, below:
“People are going bananas,” he said, before seeming to read from a news story: “The tweet prompted some to call for a boycott of HBO.”
“Yeah, that would be great Christians, except there’s nothing to boycott, there’s no commercials, you idiot,” he chuckled. “‘Let me tell you something, HBO,’” he continued, as if he was someone boycotting the company, “‘I’m not buying any products you advertise. I’m not drinking Minute Maid orange juice, I’m not going to use the tricky ladder– the three-in-one ladder you advertise.’”
“There are no commercials you moron, it’s HBO Christians!” he yelled. “And I’m speaking as a Christian.”
He went on to explain that while Maher’s comments may have been shocking, Maher has every right to tweet whatever he wants.
“Bill Maher can tweet whatever he wants. That’s the flip side of Tim Tebow giving praise to Jesus after every successful thing, is that someone should be able to say, ‘I guess Jesus didn’t want you to win.’”
Still, he said he wouldn’t have done it — while also referencing the recent child-rape story at Penn State University.
“Now would I personally have tweeted that Jesus Sanduskyed Tim Tebow? No, I personally will not write that, because I would be fired form everything. But some comedians make a name for themselves pushing the envelope. And they can do it. Bill Maher can do it — it’s a free country.”
It’s unclear what boycott Mohr was specifically referencing or why he said Christians were going after HBO advertisers. The movement across Twitter and other places has referenced boycotting HBO in general, not necessarily a call for a movement against HBO sponsors.
But while Mohr’s comments might offend some, it might cause others to wonder why Maher’s tweet, which didn’t take place on HBO, would be the impetus for a boycott of a network filled with content that might otherwise offend Christians.
By the way, Mohr wasn’t done broaching controversial topics after his comments on Christians. He also wondered aloud why outlets publish the entirety of Maher’s tweet, in which he uses the f-word, but yet do not publish the n-word.
This story has been updated.