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Sen. Elissa Slotkin with Bill Maher
HBO talk show host Bill Maher is at the center of controversy in Michigan politics.
To appear on the show or not to appear—that seems to be the issue.
Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who is Jewish, appeared Friday on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher. Democratic Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim, says he'd love to go on the show, even if Maher has said "awful" things about Muslims.
The controversy began on Monday when the Michigan chapter and national headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a press release demanding Slotkin apologize for appearing on the show, saying the talk show host has a history of making bigoted remarks about Muslims. It did not accuse her of saying anything wrong during the appearance.
"We call on Senator Slotkin to apologize for appearing on Bill Maher's show and to denounce his long history of anti-Muslim hate and anti-Arab racism," CAIR said in a statement. "It was deeply hypocritical for Senator Slotkin to embrace Bill Maher just days after she denounced a Muslim politician for associating with a podcaster accused of bigotry."
"The double standards that American Muslims face, even from a senator who represents one of our nation's largest Muslim populations, are truly remarkable. If consistency means anything to Senator Slotkin—and if she believes hate against any of her constituents is unacceptable—she must denounce Bill Maher's bigotry and apologize for embracing him."
The hypocrisy CAIR was referring to centers around internet personality Hasan Piker, who has been accused of being antisemitic. Abdul El-Sayed was criticized by his Democratic rivals in the race when he announced that he'll hold campus rallies with Piker, Democratic U.S. Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, and others at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan on April 7.
Slotkin on March 25 expressed concern about Piker, telling the Jewish Insider:
"Any equating of all Jews or American Jews with Israel and the Israeli government is a problem right off the bat, and then it sounds like, from there, a cascading set of antisemitic tropes and just the kind of rhetoric that is—I want to read for myself, but sounds deeply antisemitic, consistently, and therefore not someone that should be helping anybody out in the Michigan political environment."
Slotkin, responding to CAIR's demand, told the Detroit News:
"I have always called out Islamophobia wherever I see it—from the left and the right. This is particularly true when Islamophobia rears its ugly head in the state with the largest Arab and Muslim population in the country. This is the same standard I apply to antisemitism, and hate of any kind."
Meanwhile, in a bit of a twist to the controversy, El-Sayed posted a video saying he'd be glad to go on the Maher show.
"I want to be having those conversations with those people, and I'm going to go everywhere and talk to everyone," he said. "So, if Joe Rogan wants me to have me on the show, I would love to come; if Bill Maher, who said awful things about Muslims, wants to have me on the show, I'm happy to come; and if Hasan Piker wants to have me on the stream and wants to come join me in Michigan, then I'd be happy to come."
Let’s talk about Hasan. pic.twitter.com/eqS1WPmLQm
— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) March 31, 2026
