{
  "id": 319831,
  "title": "Bill Maher’s Joke About Ariana Grande’s Weight Draws Groans From ‘Real Time’ Audience",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/bill-mahers-joke-about-ariana-grandes-weight-draws-groans-from-real",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-08T17:38:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Variety",
    "slug": "variety",
    "url": "https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/bill-maher-joke-ariana-grande-weight-real-time-1236830643/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Bill Maher made jokes about Ariana Grande's weight during the opening monologue of his show \"Real Time\" on Friday. He compared Grande's appearance to a \"stick-like\" alien, referencing UFO files released by the administration. The audience initially responded with cheers and applause to the first joke.\n\nHowever, Maher's follow-up comment, \"Maybe that joke will make her eat something,\" was met with a loud groan from the studio audience. According to TheWrap, Maher defended his comment, saying \"I'm saying, maybe it will help.\"\n\nMaher's jokes were part of a larger monologue that touched on various topics, including the release of new UFO files by the White House. Variety and Deadline also reported on the jokes, with Deadline describing the reactions as \"mixed\".",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "TheWrap",
        "title": "Bill Maher’s Audience Audibly Groans Over Jab About Ariana Grande’s Weight: ‘Maybe That Joke Will Make Her Eat Something’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/bill-mahers-audience-audibly-groans-over-jab-about-ariana-grandes",
        "published": "2026-08-08T03:24:12.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Deadline",
        "title": "Bill Maher Makes Weight Jokes About Ariana Grande, ‘Real Time’ Audience Groans",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/bill-maher-makes-weight-jokes-about-ariana-grande-real-time-audience",
        "published": "2026-08-08T13:12:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hollywood Reporter",
        "title": "Bill Maher’s Jab About Ariana Grande’s Weight Leads to ‘Real Time’ Studio Audience Groans",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/09/bill-mahers-jab-about-ariana-grandes-weight-leads-to-real-time-studio",
        "published": "2026-08-09T18:43:42.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}