Judge dismisses Laura Loomer's defamation suit against Bill Maher

The judge said the comedian was clearly making a joke when he suggested on his talk show that the far-right activist had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump.

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a defamation lawsuit from Laura Loomer, ruling in favor of comedian Bill Maher over a comment he made on his show that insinuated the far-right activist had an affair with President Donald Trump.

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U.S. District Judge James Moody wrote in an 18-page ruling that Maher was clearly joking when he made the comment during a September 2024 episode of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."

Moody said the episode aired "during a time when the environment was rife with jokes and speculation about Loomer’s relationship with President Trump," and that a reasonable viewer of the show "would have understood Maher was making a joke, and not a statement of fact about plaintiff and President Trump."