Steve-O's Sobriety Standoff: Inside the Clash with Bill Maher's Pot-Centric Podcast
Sober 'Jackass' star says he ditched Maher's podcast after host refused to refrain from marijuana on set.
"Jackass" star Steve-O recently claimed he backed out of an episode of HBO host Bill Maher’s "Club Random" podcast after the host refused to promise to refrain from smoking marijuana during the show.
Steve-O, whose real name is Stephen Glover, said on a recent episode of his "Wild Ride!" podcast that Maher told him it would be a "dealbreaker" to interview the "Jackass" star while not being able to smoke a joint.
"I found it kind of upsetting," Steve-O told his guest, businessman Patrick Bet-David. The actor and stuntman has been sober for 16 years after struggling with addiction.
Glover stated, "I’m a clean and sober guy. It’s very important that I maintain my sobriety. It’s approaching 16 years. I am about to be sweet 16. Really, there’s nothing I value more than my sobriety. There’s nothing more that I protect than my recovery."
He criticized the pot-friendly host, saying, "I found it kind of upsetting when the Bill Maher podcast reached out, and he smokes pot the whole time while he interviews people. I said I’d happily go on there, but while I’m on, out of respect for my sobriety, could he refrain from smoking pot?"
"He said no and that’s a dealbreaker," Glover added.
Maher often smokes marijuana while speaking to his high-profile guests on the show. He has been for the legalization of the drug for years and has claimed the drug helps him with his writing for his HBO show.
In a 2016 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Maher said, "I am hardly the only person in this world who finds pot to be a creative aid. But if I’m staring at the blank computer screen sober, I’m thinking, ‘Uh, I don’t want to start this, it’s an ASSIGNMENT!’ Then, as soon as I’m high, which takes about three seconds, it’s, ‘Oh, this is fun! This isn’t an assignment. It’s a GAME.'"
The "Jackass" star mentioned the frustration he felt that Maher couldn’t accommodate him when other podcast hosts who smoke pot on their programs have done so. "Mike Tyson’s podcast is called Hotboxin," Steve-O said. "Be real! All of these prolific potheads, I’ve been on their shows and it wasn’t so important to them to blow marijuana smoke in my face. But for Bill Maher, it was a dealbreaker."
Maher has reportedly refrained from smoking during the podcast before. According to Entertainment Weekly, the "Club Random" host did not smoke while talking to his guest, musician Sheryl Crow.
During the episode, he jokingly asked Crow if he could at least hold a joint.
