Bill Maher Fires Back at Critics, Insists Woody Allen Is “Not a Child Molester”

Bill Maher is standing firmly behind Woody Allen again, defending the director against decades-old s**** abuse allegations.

The comedian spoke out during a recent episode of his podcast, which aired Monday, January 19, where he hosted fellow comedians David Spade and Dana Carvey. The conversation quickly turned to Allen and the controversy that has surrounded him since the early 1990s.

Carvey admitted he was surprised Maher managed to get Allen for an interview in 2025. “You had Woody Allen here. That one blew me away,” he said. Maher didn’t shy away from the topic and made his stance clear.

“He’s not a child molester,” Maher told his guests. He admitted the interview had some awkward moments but insisted his belief in Allen’s innocence hadn’t wavered. “And he, well, there are moments where it’s be careful about ‘meeting your idols syndrome.’ But he’s still Woody Allen, and you know, there were things that I didn’t love. But he’s not a child molester,” Maher repeated.

The Real Time host also criticized the media coverage that has fueled the public’s negative perception of Allen. He took aim at HBO, the network that produced the 2021 docuseries Allen v. Farrow. “I defended him vociferously about that with nothing for me in it, including going against my own network, which put out a documentary that I criticized,” Maher explained.

He argued the series only showed one side of the story. “I would criticize it any day because it only presented one side. It was really Mia’s story,” he said. When Spade pointed out that most people believe Allen is guilty, Maher fired back, “Well, but he’s not.”

Maher also shared his feelings about the actual interview with Allen. He hoped Allen would show the same wit and honesty found in his memoir Apropos of Nothing, but said the 90-year-old director didn’t always live up to those expectations. “The book is amazing…I wanted him to be here and say the things he said in the book, and sometimes he didn’t,” Maher noted.

Fans and listeners have been split over Maher’s defense. Some praised him for giving Allen a platform, while others accused Maher of making the interview more about himself. One social media user wrote that it felt like “Maher shooting his mouth off about himself,” while another complained, “Maher thinks too highly of himself and his own opinions.”