Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 9

Bill Maher’s Ariana Grande Weight Joke Draws Groans on HBO’s 'Real Time' as Audience Rejects 2nd Jab

Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 9

Bill Maher’s Ariana Grande Weight Joke Draws Groans on HBO’s 'Real Time' as Audience Rejects 2nd Jab

Q: How will Ariana Grande respond to Bill Maher's controversial joke about her weight during his monologue?

Ariana Grande is unlikely to respond directly to Bill Maher’s joke, based on the information available and her recent approach to public scrutiny. There is no public statement from Grande so far addressing Maher’s remark. Her recent comments suggest she has been trying to limit engagement with commentary about her body rather than amplify it. She has already said that public discussion of her appearance has been damaging, and in 2023 she urged people not to make assumptions about health from looks alone, saying there are “many different ways to look healthy and beautiful.” That fits with her broader decision to “step back from visibility” after her Eternal Sunshine Tour. Her team said that move was driven in part by “endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” and Grande later told fans it was a long-planned, “thoughtful and empowered” decision. In that context, a direct rebuttal to Maher would run against the boundary-setting message she has been emphasizing. If she does respond, the most likely form would be indirect: reiterating her past stance against body commentary, stressing mental health and privacy, or addressing fans at a show or through a general social post rather than naming Maher personally. For now, the clearest answer is that Grande appears more likely to stay silent publicly and continue focusing on her tour, her planned break from the spotlight, and the broader message that scrutiny of anyone’s body is harmful.

3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 9

Friday’s 'Real Time' audience groaned loudly after Bill Maher followed an Ariana Grande UFO-video joke with, “Maybe that joke will make her eat something.”
The remark came during Maher’s opening monologue about newly released UFO files, where he first compared a “stick-like figure with large eyes” to the Grammy winner.
Grande has faced sustained online scrutiny over her body and health over the past year, making Maher’s line especially pointed.
September marks the end of Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Tour, after which she plans to step back from public-facing work and appearances to reduce that scrutiny.
Maher has a history of weight-related commentary, including a 2019 'Real Time' segment arguing that “fat shaming” should “make a comeback.”