Maher: How Could the Golden Globes Snub Joe Rogan In the Podcast Category?

Editorial philosophy reflection: How does one write a headline for a Bill Maher segment in which the obvious pull quote refers to Hollywood elites as being “such f***ing smug a**holes”? Especially on the Townhall Media platform? I could have consulted with my pal Larry O’Connor on this question, since he just got named Townhall’s managing editor, but I’m pretty sure he would have told me to lead with that and see what happens.

As you can see, I chose a wiser path in the end.

Last week’s Golden Globes was notable for many omissions, chief among them hardly a syllable of support for the tens of thousands of Iranians being massacred in the streets. Maher, however, took notice of one glaring omission that directly relates to the purpose of the awards themselves. This was the first year in which the Golden Globes included podcasts as a category, and yet it left off the most influential and arguably popular podcast in the US  – one which had a particular, if indirect, impact on the presidential election in 2024. 

How deep in the “BlueSky bubble” do you have to be, Maher wondered on his Club Random podcast, to ignore Joe Rogan? Dana Carvey and David Spade seem equally mystified, starting roughly at the 1-hour, 20-minute mark (NSFW):

MAHER: I’m sure there were good shows. But it was glaring that Joe Rogan was not nominated.

CARVEY: For Best Function?

MAHER: Yeah. I mean. It is kind of popular.

CARVEY: It is known.

MAHER: It is known.

CARVEY: He’s absolutely brilliant at what he does.

MAHER: And he’s very good at what. Exactly.

So you’re going to have an inaugural podcast category.

CARVEY: And you don’t have [Joe Rogan].

MAHER: It just speaks to living in the blue sky bubble. But get out of your f*cking bubble, you know. I want to be one of you. I am one of you. But you’re just so hard to defend. Because you’re such f*cking smug a**holes. And this town is the epicenter of the problem.

The irony here, of course, is that Joe Rogan isn’t a political conservative. He launched his podcast as a Bernie Bro, more of a generic populist than an outright socialist, but still clearly to the left of center. The failures of the Biden Regency soured Rogan on the Left, but he has never been a hat-wearing member of MAGA, preferring more distance from any kind of movement. He offered both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris spots on his podcast to discuss their agendas; Trump enthusiastically engaged, while Harris snubbed Rogan. 

The “Blue Sky bubble” ignored Rogan not because he’s conservative, but because he refuses to live in the Blue Sky bubble with them. And that may explain another awards-season snub, one that prompted some sharp criticism from Landman’s Billy Bob Thornton:

You’ve spoken candidly in the past about award shows in Hollywood. Compared to its success, it seems that “Landman” and other Taylor Sheridan shows are sometimes underrepresented in award conversations. Why do you think that is?

I think a lot of it’s political. I really do. I think some people assume Taylor is some sort of right-wing guy or something, and he’s really not. Even with this show being about the oil business, he just shows you what it’s like. He’s not saying “Rah, rah, rah for oil.” It’s just the people who work in this business or who are affected by this business, the people on the periphery and within the families in the business; this is what happens. These are the kinds of problems and joys and triumphs and whatever happens in this world. It’s a world of gambling, and you never know what’s going to happen. But I think people got the wrong idea about that.

The knock on Landman is that it’s become a platform for conservative rants from some of the characters, including Thornton’s. This season apparently features a Karen-esque college-student character named “Paigyn,” which sounds contrived but also on point as a foil for some of the rants in question. However, that sounds no more contrived than anything else Hollywood produces for the Blue Sky didactic, and like Rogan, Sheridan may not even be conservative. Just his openness to other viewpoints is enough to disqualify him from recognition, however, as it does Rogan. 

Christian Toto and I will have more on this later in our Off the Beaten Path episode. That too will receive no nominations for a Golden Globe, but that’s a lot less mystifying than Rogan’s snub. 

Editor’s Note: Here at Hot Air, we’ve been dealing with real government suppression of free speech for YEARS. Despite the threats and consequences, we refuse to go silent and remain committed to delivering the truth.

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