Bill Maher’s studio audience let out an audible groan after the comedian took shots at Ariana Grande’s weight during his Friday monologue.
While addressing the crowd during Friday’s taping for “Real Time With Bill Maher,” the host compared the pop star’s physical appearance to that of a “stick-like” alien.
“I hope the aliens are here, I do. I hope they’re here and watching us and they’re going to save us,” Maher started off. “And, by the way, the administration this week, just a few days ago, maybe yesterday, unleashed a new trove of UFO files. Interesting things in there. Triangular craft, weird lights over an army base, a stick-like figure with large eyes – oh, that was just an Ariana Grande video.”
Maher’s crowd wasn’t taken aback by the initial jab, with many in the studio audience audibly cheering and clapping in response to the quip. However, it was his follow up dig that seemed to take it too far for the audience.
“Please, we kid. We kid,” he said. “Maybe that joke will make her eat something.”
At this remark, Maher’s studio audience let out a loud groan, prompting the comedian to defend his comment. “I’m saying, maybe it will help,” he added, before moving on to his next topic. “Speaking of eating something, I gotta tell you something, Democrats have found a candidate who hates Thanksgiving.”
Watch the monologue moment below.
Maher’s commentary came five days after Grande’s rep shared that the “Wicked” star was taking a “step back from visibility” after her Eternal Sunshine tour, as her public appearances have “led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny.”
“She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” the statement noted at the time. “This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
The representative also confirmed that Grande had dropped out of her role in the West End’s revival production of “Sunday in the Park With George,” which she was supposed to co-headline alongside “Wicked” co-star Jonathan Bailey.
Grande shed further light on her decision during her Monday concert stop in Chicago, Illinois, where she told concertgoers that her break from “visibility” was not “a reactive or impulsive” decision. Rather, she noted that it was something she had decided to do a while back.
“It is something that I had decided to plan that I had quietly made a long time ago and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place,” she said. “And I want you to know many things can be true at the same time. I heard that my fans were worried that negativity was ruining things for me, but I just have to say that could not be more the f–k opposite. Honestly, this is not what that is.”
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