The others who bravely stood up and said that they would bring their talk shows back despite the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes continuing caved to the outrage mob pretty quickly. The one hold-out was Bill Maher. That’s changed now.

Drew Barrymore created a week-end long kerfuffle by announcing she would begin the new season of her daytime talk show. It was scheduled to return today. But, she received lots of blowback from Hollywood stars and others so she issued a tearful apology. Still, she was going to go through with her decision, explaining it was about more than striking WGA members. The strike was also directly affecting the others who work on the show. They have bills to pay and families to feed, too.

I was proud of her standing up for herself and doing what is right for her show employees. I pointed out that she was not a scab, but a good businesswoman who was taking care of employees while still voicing support for the unions on strike. Both can happen at the same time. Her show was going back to work. I don’t watch her show and have not seen a single one of them. I did see a hideous video clip of her kneeling down to Dylan Mulvaney, but that is neither here nor there. My point was that she found a way to comply with union regulations and get on with the show. It was a bold move in an atmosphere where leftists run the industry and groupthink is at a premium.

So, naturally, she caved. I did a post as an update on Sunday. I called her spineless because that is how it looks to me.

I noted that no one was giving The View any static for being on-air during the strike. Not a peep.

Bill Maher announced that he would bring back his show on HBO before Drew Barrymore. He’s considered a contrarian, someone who goes his own way, so no one was going after him. That has changed now. He’s selling out to peer pressure, the same as the rest. If we can’t count on Bill Maher to be the rebel, who can we count on?

My decision to return to work was made when it seemed nothing was happening and there was no end in sight to this strike. Now that both sides have agreed to go back to the negotiating table I’m going to delay the return of Real Time, for now, and hope they can finally get this…

— Bill Maher (@billmaher) September 18, 2023

He claims his flip-flop is because the negotiators are going back to the table. No one expected Maher to cave, but he did. He perfectly articulated that his show would go on because it could be done in compliance with union rules and it would help the shows employees. He’s changed his mind now.

Maher wrote last week that “writers have important issues that I sympathize with, and hope they are addressed to their satisfaction, but they are not the only people with issues, problems, and concerns,” adding that his staff is still struggling despite his personal assistance.

Maher, who is a member of the WGA, also had said he was not willing “to lose an entire year and see so many below-the-line people suffer so much.”

Oh well. I guess now that there may be some movement in the progress of ending the strikes, Maher thinks it is better to wait it out. He lives in the community, after all. He can afford to change his mind. It’s too bad for the other show employees, though, the ones he was standing up for in the first place.