Conservative commentator Laura Loomer is suing HBO and Bill Maher for $150 million after Mr. Maher joked that she might be having an affair with President Trump. 

The lawsuit, which was filed in Florida on Monday, alleges that Mr. Maher voiced a “false, malicious and defamatory statement” about Ms. Loomer during a September 13 episode of his popular talk show, “Real Time.” 

During the episode, Mr. Maher quipped that Ms. Loomer might be “in an arranged relationship to affect the election because she’s very close to Trump. She’s 31, looks like his type.” He also brought up an “editorial” that was previously featured on the show which asked the question “who’s Trump f******?” To which Mr. Maher subsequently proposed: “I think we may have our answer this week. I think it might be Laura Loomer.” 

Ms. Maher cracked the joke after several sightings of Ms. Loomer suggested that she was becoming increasingly close to the Trump campaign, including her attendance at a September 11 memorial in New York alongside the 45th president. Before that, she was spotted backstage with the Trump campaign during his presidential debate against Vice President Harris. 

The polarizing political activist has become known for sharing  controversial conspiracy theories, including that the 9/11 attacks were an “inside job” and that President Biden was behind Trump’s July assassination attempt. Her appearance on Trump’s campaign thus trail raised the eyebrows of some of his allies, including Senator Graham, who called Ms. Loomer “toxic” and claimed that her presence was not “helpful at all” for the campaign. 

However, in the lawsuit, Ms. Loomer disavowed allegations of a romantic affair with the GOP nominee as “plainly false.” She further claimed that Mr. Maher “published them with reckless disregard for the truth” despite knowing that his statement would cause “severe financial damage” as well as damage her “reputation, good will, businesses opportunities, social relationships” and “career.”

The suit maintains that “Real Talk” shot down her request for a retraction and apology and declined her offer to be featured on the show. These actions, she claimed, affirmed “their malicious intention to harm Plaintiff and to seek to influence, with their unlawful actions, the 2024 presidential election by also defaming President Donald Trump, who Defendants loathe, if not hate, outright.” 

Ms. Loomer’s lawyer, Larry Klayman, doubled down on the accusation that the defendants were using Ms. Loomer — who he described in a statement as “a strong advocate for President Trump” — as “a vehicle” to harm Trump’s presidential campaign, calling Mr. Maher, “a known Trump hater.” Mr. Klayman, a former federal prosecutor, was dubbed the “Clinton nemesis” because of the 18 lawsuits he filed against the Clinton administration over allegations of corruption.  

“Neither Ms. Loomer nor I will entertain politically motivated and unfounded and malicious defamation and threats, which put her at great risk,” Mr. Klayman wrote. “Thus, both Maher and Home Box Office will now have to answer to a jury of their peers. When this is over, Maher, the self-styled political pundit, and his Hollywood network, HBO, will not be laughing.” 

While Mr. Maher has said that he tends to vote for Democratic candidates, the TV personality has never shied from critiquing liberal ideologies and regularly pokes fun at left’s stance on political correctness. Most recently, he has railed against the left’s approach to the war in the Middle East and lambasted the anti-Israel protests which exploded on American college campuses after Hamas’s attack on October 7. 

HBO has not yet responded to the Sun’s request for comment.