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Last night on Real Time with Bill Maher, the HBO host spoke about the Quiet on Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV documentary, comparing Nickelodeon to Michael Jackson‘s Neverland Ranch.
Maher then called out Disney for not being “all that different before segueing into a rant about modern progressive gender politics.
In his “New Rule” segment titled “Kid ‘n Prey” (a nod to hip-hop duo Kid ‘N Play, known for the “House Party” movies), Maher opened by saying “it’s every adult’s job to protect” kids, before asking his viewers if they’ve been watching the Investigation Discovery documentary.
“O-M-G,” Maher began. “Nickelodeon — it wasn’t a studio, it was Neverland Ranch with craft services.”
“It is just scene after scene, clip after clip of the child stars of their day being subjected to obviously inappropriate, highly sexualized degradation,” Maher continued, adding, “and quite a few pickles going through glory holes.”
Maher played clips of Nickelodeon scenes involving child stars including Ariana Grande and Amanda Bynes that were allegedly inspired by porn, as well as of convicted sex offender Brian Peck portraying the recurring “Pickle Boy” character.
“I was grossed out, and I’ve gone camping with John Waters,” Maher added, referencing the infamous but acclaimed director. “I kid with John, I love you.”
Maher then said he felt the docuseries exposed both “a dangerous workplace” and “hypocrisy” before mentioning how Peck was hired at Disney after serving 16 months in prison for sexually assaulting Drake Bell.
“Disney hired him, naturally, to work on a children’s series,” Maher said, before directly referencing one of Disney’s most popular rides. “For pedophiles in Hollywood, it’s a small world after all.”
He then criticized parents who post clips of their young beauty queen daughters posing in bikinis in an attempt to turn them into social media stars, calling them “sharenters.”
After explaining that the word was a hybrid of “share” and “parent,” he added, “I call them ‘pimps,’ a hybrid of ‘pimp’ and ‘ssss.’”
“People who believe in social justice have agreed this is wrong and this is bad, and exposing kids to an adult world of lurid costumes and garish makeup borders on abuse. Now hurry up and get in the car — we’re late for drag queen story hour,” Maher quipped.
He then pivoted to complaining about drag queen story hours for children that have been held at some libraries.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with being a drag queen, but maybe it’s time to admit that sometimes, drag queen story hour is more for the queen than the kids,” Maher said. “Sure kids love a clown, but does the clown have to have t**s?!”
You can watch the clip above and catch new episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher on Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO or streaming on Max.
