Far-right activist Laura Loomer got a legal setback when a federal judge dismissed her defamation lawsuit against comedian Bill Maher. The case is about a joke Maher told on his HBO show, implying a romantic relationship between Loomer and President Donald Trump.
Judge tosses Laura Loomer’s defamation case against Bill Maher
U.S. District Judge James Moody issued an 18-page ruling on April 22 in favor of Bill Maher and HBO (via NBC News). The judge determined that Maher’s remarks during a September 2024 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher were clearly presented as comedic hyperbole rather than a statement of fact.
During the broadcast in question, Maher referenced an earlier segment about “who’s Trump fu**ing,” before quipping, “I think it might be Laura Loomer.” The episode had aired soon after Loomer was seen traveling on Trump’s private plane and attending both a presidential debate and a 9/11 memorial event alongside the president.
In his ruling, Moody noted that the show happened “during a time when the environment was rife with jokes and speculation about Loomer’s relationship with President Trump.” The judge asserted that any reasonable viewer of Maher’s long-running political satire program “would have understood Maher was making a joke, and not a statement of fact about plaintiff and President Trump.”
The court also addressed the issue of damages. The judge wrote that Loomer failed to demonstrate reputational harm or a loss of income. In fact, court documents revealed that Loomer testified her income increased in 2024 compared to prior years. Furthermore, he noted that Donald Trump still “continues to solicit her opinions” and invites her to the White House, indicating her standing with the president remains unchanged.
During his testimony in the case, Bill Maher explained his comedic process, referencing the public displays of affection observed between Loomer and Trump. “It’s just comedy. These are jokes,” Maher stated. Loomer, who has a history of promoting conspiracy theories and was previously banned from multiple tech platforms for anti-Muslim rhetoric, reacted angrily to the decision on X (formerly Twitter).
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
