Bill Maher

There’s a fine line between being a political commentator and just being an audacious shit-stirrer, and depending on the joke or point he’s making, it’s easy to understand why comedian Bill Maher often gets painted as one or the other. What can be agreed on is that he’s an outspoken, polarizing figure who won’t be silenced—he bounced back last decade after infamously making a controversial comment about 9/11 that resulted in the cancellation of his show, Politically Incorrect. Real Time has been his subsequent platform for letting loose with observations—recently calling the Koran a “hate-filled holy book”—but he still finds time to pry himself away from blogging and hosting for where he got his start: onstage as a stand-up.

Updated 03/16/2011