Rachel Maddow, Bill Maher React To Olbermann Leaving MSNBC (VIDEO)

Rachel Maddow was on "Real Time With Bill Maher" when the news broke that Keith Olbermann and MSNBC had decided to part ways, and she and Maher both had a chance to react.

Maddow, who was one of Olbermann's closest allies at MSNBC--and who owed her career there in large part to his support of her--was tight-lipped, saying only that the decision had been a mutual one.

"i know very little about it," she said. "All I know is that it was between Keith and the company, it didn't involve any of the rest of us, and he was really gracious and nice when he left."

Maher said that, in his opinion, the show went "downhill" when Olbermann started retooling his "Worst Persons In The World" segment. "Stop organizing life around the people who don't get the joke," he said. "F--k them if they don't get a joke."

WATCH:

Comments

[blueken]

09:06 AM on 02/08/2011

What do Maddow, Maher and Olbermann have in common? They all make a lot of money, and they all believe they should pay higher taxes, because they are reaping more benifits from this country than the average guy. With that in mind, who do you believe?

[USNDC]

05:18 PM on 02/01/2011

The Internet's finest satirists hooked a big fish in the media world last night. In an embarrassing segment on her MSNBC show, Rachel Maddow slammed conservatives for attacking President Obama's Egypt policies. Her targets included Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, former ambassador to the UN John Bolton and Stephenson Billings at ChristWire.org. Only problem is Stephenson Billings is not a real person. He's a fictional byproduct of a website that also warns readers that the Xbox Kinect is a terrorist training tool and the Japanese have created scary robot babies which "threaten humanity."

The article that caught Maddow's eye called for an "American-led invasion" into Egypt and begged former Alaska governor Sarah Palin to lead the war cry.

"The escalating crisis in Egypt could become a defining moment for Sarah Palin," Billings wrote. "Governor Palin needs to speak out publicly and forcibly for an American-led invasion to protect our interests in North Africa."

In the following clip (which MSNBC scrubbed from its website) Maddow falls for the article hook, line and sinker:

[donaldinks]

12:26 PM on 01/27/2011

Here is the link to the deleted clip:

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/rachel-maddow-addresses-keith-olbermanns-msnbc-departure-on-real-time/

[aaronr2000]

12:15 AM on 01/26/2011

I completely agree with Bill Maher about Worst Person in the World. It's like Oprah. We all know she has the best talk show even though she took herself out of the running to give others a chance to win. We know the world's worst is somewhere between Congo, Darfur and other human rights violators. Scrubbing it, bringing it back and then qualifying each worst person with with a "not really" to eventually cut it again was annoying as all get out. Anyway he'll be sorely missed.

[digitalprophet]

03:43 PM on 02/02/2011

Yeah.. he should have done away with it properly, or left it alone. The way it continued was still guilty of what it was accused of(QUALIFICATION: Not to me personally, but to anyone who was for taking it down.. Simply put, it didn't change for the "nicer").

I understood where Jon Stewart was coming from in his criticism of aspects of KO's show like WPITW, but at the same time it was really necessary to show the damage and misinformation being peddled out by Republicans and Fox News hosts alike. It may have been a bit rough to its subjects, but it was never fabricated. It was all fact.

[The-JuRK]

10:22 PM on 01/25/2011

Wow, Rachel's condescending smirk was gone for a whole ten seconds.

[relentless63]

08:57 PM on 01/25/2011

It's official. Fox has no competition.

[The-JuRK]

10:22 PM on 01/25/2011

That's not exactly news.

[digitalprophet]

03:44 PM on 02/02/2011

Eh.. That was already true. People who watch FOX don't watch it for what we consider news. It is seriously akin to members of a cult getting their daily brainwashing. IT doesn't matter what FOX says, it is taken as truth and what little room left for the viewers' opinions to form is misguided terribly.

[rebelriser]

09:59 AM on 01/25/2011

This is my take on the hate speech and those who support it, and my comment is not indicative of HP, but my own beliefs and that of a multitude of others. How can any persons call themselves Christian, but yell hate against opposing candidates and not put a stop to riotous behavior their hate speech has caused? How can any persons call themselves Christian but wave guns and yell about killing candidates who they oppose? How can any person call themselves Christian but back the yellers of hate that causes threats against the lives of opposing candidates? How can any persons call themselves Christian but back or be among the gun wavers who are shouting about killing opposing candidates? Haven't you ever heard about "guilt by association?" Why do you suppose candidates are wanting to have their supporters wave guns and shout about killing opposing candidates? Don't you think the perpetrators of violence would stop inciting violence if they did not want violence to happen? Finally, why are the inciters of violence the first to defend themselves when the violence they promote happens? If they don't want actual violence, they shouldn't be promoting violence.

[rebelriser]

09:41 AM on 01/25/2011

Enough of your rt wing gibberish, rightstroke. How can you rt wingers and/or teaBaggers claim to be Christians but back the hateful speech that has brought on gun waving and yelling about killing Democrats and then finally killing & wounding a Democratic Representative and her supporters? My entire comment can be found above.

[hippynanainblingland]

03:30 PM on 01/25/2011

Who, Rachel? I take it that by 'makeover' you mean 'feminine makeup'. . . well, I, for one, think she's gorgeous just the way she is!

[MotorcycleBoy]

06:51 PM on 01/25/2011

no one cares what you think

[duvallmike]

01:37 AM on 01/25/2011

I wonder if his departure has anything to do with Comcast merging with NBC. I bet there is a connection somewhere although nobody in Corporate will ever admit it.
I remember when the carefully orchestrated patriotic hype for the invasion of Iraq was at it's hysterical heights in 2003 and the Bush cabal was in full motion. The only person on mainstream media who would have people on the air who were questioning of the impending invasion was Phil Donahue on MSNBC. He was unceremoniously dumped by the network because of their fear of looking 'unpatriotic' even though he had the HIGHEST RATINGS OF ANY SHOW ON THE NETWORK AT THE TIME! I don't know if that has ever happened before, or since. Until now.

[Culturegeek]

05:12 PM on 01/26/2011

I wonder if water is wet.

[ManiDeli]

11:56 PM on 01/24/2011

Maddew won't last either. They have to shut them up.

[Culturegeek]

05:13 PM on 01/26/2011

If she doesn't, I'll follow her to her next gig.

[donaldinks]

02:40 PM on 01/27/2011

...where?

Certainly not on any other corporate owned network or cable show...

Youtube perhaps?

[ManiDeli]

11:55 PM on 01/24/2011

Maddow won't last either

In order to succeed the totalitarians have to take over the media. They have to do it slowly so they don't wake anyone up. They will also peck away at the internet. Ultimately they will back up the final takeovers with legislation as to what can be said for the triumph of a totalitarian media. Get ready for even bigger week-long enemas of BS along with lots of phoney time killing sentimental mass drivel.

[alexjones1]

12:52 AM on 01/25/2011

"have to take over the media" ? The media has always been owned by the "totalitarians", they have just convinced you otherwise.

[Culturegeek]

05:31 PM on 01/26/2011

You have a point, although I don't know enough about you to know whether or not you know why. Freedom of the press is only for those who own the press-- that's why we used to have laws limiting the number of newspapers in a town that one company could own-- to avoid media monopolies and oligopolies* like the ones that now control -- well, see for yourself: http://www.cjr.org/resources/.

There is no conspiracy, and none is needed. There is no collusion, and none is needed. There is only the fact that corporations are perfect little Hobbesian machines (that part /is/ Patel)-- they will do what is most profitable every time (Actually, see Maddow on the subject)-- and the fact that communications giants have remarkably similar interests. However, the outcome is no less hegemonic for the lack of secret cabals and smoke-filled rooms (those are out of fashion anyway-- smoking is now marked as a lower-class habit in most places).

*the word may be Raj Patel's-- I haven't seen a lot of people using it. Or else it's just because I've been reading him until I feel like my brains are leaking out of my ears. Really should do references more efficiently.

[apogee2perogee]

11:18 PM on 01/24/2011

This free advertisement for one of our shows is no longer available due to HBO's inclination to bite our nose off to spite our face.

[ThreadKiller]

12:48 AM on 01/25/2011

And you know this how?
Seems as though kieth is keeping his pinhole closed also
Maybe there is a reason
Put up or shut .........

[markie G]

01:52 AM on 01/25/2011

buddy---flagged as moronic

[Solouno]

08:55 PM on 01/24/2011

I know this must really be painful for Rachel but she needs to keep up the good work she is doing; Keith don't forget to lets us know what's going on so we can follow you.