Nikki Glaser Talks Coming to Terms with Cancel Culture on HBO’s ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’

On the latest episode of HBO‘s Real Time with Bill Maher, the show’s host was visited by comedian Nikki Glaser to discuss stand-up and cancel culture. Sitting six feet apart, Glaser joined Maher just a day before the Real Time host left for his first stand-up tour in over a year, and the two used their time to swap stories and perspectives on facing cancel culture today as a comedian.

Glaser, who spent some time performing stand-up in person during the pandemic for “anti-maskers who aren’t the people that enjoy me,” is excited to get back on tour doing comedy in a post-vaccine America for people who are more in line with her target crowd. But while the comedian wants her audiences to feel comfortable coming out to see her on tour, she isn’t going to let them get too comfortable.

“I was really scared of getting canceled for a while. And then COVID hit and I moved back home with my parents for 10 months, and I realized, ‘I’ve been canceled,’ like that’s getting canceled,” Glaser told Maher. “I lived the life that I would’ve lived had shit hit the fan. And it’s not that bad, it was kind of great.”

Glaser shared that living through COVID has relieved her previous fears about getting canceled, especially because, when it comes down to it, she knows that at her core, she is a good person, and that while she will take advantage of her opportunity to get back onstage staying the things she wants to, she still does not want to go out there hurting people.

“I’m accountable,” the comedian added on. “I don’t mind apologizing.”

Maher, who, earlier in the interview professed his enjoyment of performing for audiences in red states “because they are more ready to laugh and not go, ‘Hmm, that’s not politically correct,'” didn’t seem as sold on the idea of apologizing for the things that are being said onstage, and even asked his guest why she feels the need to do it.

“I will apologize to that person,” Glaser responded, referencing how people will sometimes get up and leave when potentially sensitive or triggering topics (like her latest bit on molestation) come up in her act. The comedian (who earlier in the interview, Maher accurately dubbed “The Roast Lady”) continued on, saying “I don’t like to offend people. It’s really not fun for me.”

Maher pushed back on this stance a little bit, arguing that “I don’t want to get eaten by a shark, but I go in the ocean.” And after taking a second to think about it, Glaser pushed back.

“If I got attacked by a shark and I punched it in the face and that killed the shark in retaliation, I would feel bad. I would want to find that shark and be like, ‘I know you were just being you.'”

Maher and his audience could only respond with laughter and applause.

“I would punch it, but I would feel bad that it felt bad,” Glaser finished, setting the tone for what is sure to be a hilarious and no-holds-barred stand-up tour across the country in the second to last Real Time episode before the show takes a one month break.

Stream Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO Max