John Waters talks President Biden and monkeypox on "Real Time With Bill Maher"

"I love Joe Biden," Waters said. "He's a Catholic for abortion and gay marriage. So what if he's senile?"

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published August 27, 2022 1:01PM (EDT)

John Waters attends the 70th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street on November 20, 2019 in New York City. (Theo Wargo/WireImage/Getty)
John Waters attends the 70th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street on November 20, 2019 in New York City. (Theo Wargo/WireImage/Getty)

Director and author John Waters appeared as a guest on Friday's "Real Time With Bill Maher" and during his interview — conducted remotely from San Francisco — he proclaimed his love for President Joe Biden.

After talking with Maher about how he was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Degree from The School of Visual Arts in New York City, and how he is considering using that degree to pursue a new career in performing late term dog abortions, Waters fielded questions about being more than just a provocateur. From here, Waters prefaced his feelings towards Biden by saying it's possibly the most radical thing he could say.

"Can I say the most radical thing?" Waters asked Maher. "Of anything I could say; rather than me saying I'm Antifa or a Proud Boy or anything . . . I love Joe Biden. I really do," Waters exclaimed. "You know why? He has a great hair transplant. He's had drugs in his family, he can identify with what a lot of American families are going through. He's a Catholic for abortion and gay marriage. So what if he's senile? Maybe he'll send us all $500,000. I hope so." 

Moving on from the topic of Biden, Maher got Waters to weigh in on monkeypox saying it "sounds to me like the title of a John Waters movie."

"Well, I call it monkeyballs," says Waters. "You know, that's the worst. You get big goiters on your balls. That's a nice look for summer. And then I hear you can get it in your ass so you can have monkeyhole. Oh great. Wait till straight people have that! They'll have a vaccine."


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Watch a clip from the segment here:


By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Nights and Weekends Editor covering daily news, politics and culture. Her work has been featured in Vulture, The A.V. Club, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, Vice, and elsewhere.

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Bill Maher Hbo Max Joe Biden John Waters Monkeypox Real Time