Babylon Bee CEO praises Bill Maher for standing up for comedians pushing the envelope
Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon speaks with Fox News Digital about Bill Maher's recent remarks defending comedians' right to make jokes without being slapped.
The Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, whose satirical website is currently locked out of its Twitter account for making a joke the social media platform deemed "hateful," thinks humor is critical to society but thin-skinned youngsters and comedians who echo the popular narrative are doing more harm than good.
"We are one of the few outfits that's still out there that's willing to poke holes in the popular narrative. And these other comedians are just out there promoting and pushing the popular narrative and that's not funny," Dillon told Fox News Digital.
The Babylon Bee has not deleted the tweet that resulted in its Twitter account being locked.
Dillon was notified on March 20 that The Babylon Bee was locked out of its Twitter account, which has 1.3 million followers, after it accused the satirical site of violating its rules against "hateful conduct" over a joke naming Biden administration official Dr. Rachel Levine the satire site's "Man of the Year" for 2022. Levine, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health, is a transgender woman. The conservative satire site has since lost an appeal and Dillon insists he will not delete the tweet.
Last week, HBO’s "Real Time" host Bill Maher closed his show by planting his flag in the "war on jokes." The liberal comedian revived his running gag "Explaining Jokes to Idiots" by offering a breakdown of a joke "for the humor-impaired," examining Chris Rock's swipe about Jada Pinkett Smith, which sparked the infamous slap from Will Smith last month at the Oscars.
"Now, I know we're all sick of talking about the slap, but I'm sorry, one more thing needs to be said. Comedians have been under attack for quite some time and I need to stick up for my tribe. This war on jokes must end," Maher told his audience.
Maher added, "For all those who are constantly demanding an apology for jokes, maybe it's you who should apologize to us. For all the great jokes that we never got to hear, the brilliant thoughts that were never uttered. Those are the invisible scars of cancel culture."
HBO’s "Real Time" host Bill Maher recently addressed the "war on jokes." (HBO)
While Dillon doesn’t agree with Maher on many issues, he’s thrilled a prominent liberal comedian has recognized there is a widespread issue in the world of comedy.
"I'm glad he has an opinion that defends comedy because there are so many comedians who aren't even willing to do comedy anymore," Dillon said. "We're actually doing what comedians are supposed to be doing, what satirist and humorists are supposed to be doing. Bill Maher recognizes that, you know, jokes are offensive by nature."
The conservative Babylon Bee has no issues poking fun at everything from Democrats and Republicans to current events. Recent headlines on the satirical news site include "10 woke changes Disney is making to old cartoons," "Zookeepers scramble to vaccinate all lizards after hearing Pelosi got COVID," "Xi Says Lockdown Is Necessary To Maintain China's COVID Record Of Zero Deaths" and "Are You A Groomer? 9 Things To Look For."
Dillon says the jokes are sometimes "offensive," but many people are far too sensitive.
"The thin skin that we have now, this craving for a safe space where no one's going to offend us? And this idea that young people have that they have a right to not be offended by anything is really it's a bad idea. It's bad for society," Dillon said.
The Babylon Bee was locked out of its popular Twitter account after the social media juggernaut accused the satirical site of violating its rules against "hateful conduct" over the joke naming U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine the satire site's "Man of the Year" for 2022. ((Joe Hermitt/The Patriot-News via AP, File))
"Maher sees that and is speaking out on it, and I respect him for that. I think it's a good thing. I don't know that it's going to change anything, but it is good that there are people on his side of the fence politically who get this," Dillon continued. "There aren't many of them, but maybe more of them will, you know, stand up next to him when they hear him in the hill, and he’ll embolden them to kind of push back on this stuff."
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Dillon feels that comedy is critical and censoring humor, or attempting to cancel comedians, is a "disservice" to Americans.
"These things are vehicles for truth delivery, but they're also really healthy exercises in terms of examining our own motives and inclinations and hypocrisy and behavior," Dillon said. "When you really handcuff comedians that they can't make jokes that a certain class of people deem offensive, you really do everyone a disservice. So I appreciate that he's speaking out on it."
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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