Maher and Allen Slam DEI in the Entertainment Industry on ‘Club Random’ Podcast

Comedian Bill Maher and actor Tim Allen criticized diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices during Maher’s “Club Random” podcast on Monday, arguing that such policies should not hinder the creative process when making television shows.

“My wife says, ‘Why do you keep saying that?’ And I said, “Someone told me I was like the Tom Brady of sitcoms.” When they asked me to do a third one, I said, ‘I thought they were joking,'” Allen told Maher. “I don’t know if my generation – because all the people I would be successful with are either dead or the wrong kind, you know, they’re all light-skinned older European men – and that doesn’t match reality. It’s a thing that everyone wanted. They wanted, you know, a medley of…”

Maher chimed in and said they could have “DEI in the cast.”

“I didn’t want to get into that. I didn’t want to patronize people. If you want make a sitcomit just has to be funny. There has to be drama,” Allen said.

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Maher agrees, saying that while diversity is a “great virtue,” it is not the only one.

“Not everything in America has to look like Angelina Jolie’s Christmas card, you know, sometimes, and it’s always OK in reverse. You know, it’s like there’s something where there’s just an all-black cast — well, I’m all for it. I’m not complaining about it,” he continued.

Maher has previously criticized DEI efforts as meaningless virtue signaling by the left that does little to address racial divisions or inequality in the United States.

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The comedian cited CBS’ 2020 initiative setting a goal of having a minimum of 40% Black, Indigenous and people of color representation in writers’ rooms — a figure the company hoped to increase to 50%. according to Variety.

“I wondered: What if the show they were writing was about a polka band at a ski resort?” » said Maher.

He argued that DEI practices should not impinge on creativity.

“I love people of color, and I’m so happy that things are better than they used to be for people of color, but you know, it shouldn’t infringe on the creative process like it does in this city,” Maher said. “It has impinged on the creative process. And by the way, a lot of people of color are OK with that because they want the creative process to be pure as well.”

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Allen, the current lead actor on the CBS sitcom “Shifting Gears,” starred in the popular ABC sitcom “Home Improvement” in the 1990s and later returned to the network for “Last Man Standing.” He is also known for his film roles and voice work as Buzz Lightyear in the “Toy Story” animated film series.

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President Donald Trump End of DEI initiatives in the federal government shortly after he took office, and several major companies followed suit.