In the most recent edition of "Real Time," Bill Maher expertly skewered the virtual spat between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, weaving in a whimsical reference to the sprawling legal saga between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Kicking off Friday's HBO show, Maher humorously thanked his audience for "donning their bravest faces, knowing full well you're probably all a little upset" due to "the Elon-Trump fiasco" that had captivated the week.
Maher subsequently confessed that his mind couldn't stray from "the Trump-Elon divide," likening their confrontation to the cinematic clash of titans in the "Godzilla vs. Kong" franchise. "Picture this: the world's richest man and the most powerful man squaring off—it's like Godzilla versus King Kong, except Godzilla's on ketamine and King Kong sports a comb-over," he quipped.
He then poked fun at their proximity, quipping that they were "as inseparable as Brangelina or Bennifer," invoking the former coupling of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, respectively. Maher's jokes extended to the nitty-gritty of their digital dust-up, quipping, "This week's drama? It's been simmering for ages, folks."
The week's drama escalated on Thursday when Trump and Musk embarked on an online brawl after Musk openly critiqued the Republican Party's One Big Beautiful Bill. "I don't mind Elon turning on me, but he should've done it months ago," Trump posted on Truth Social, sparking a cross-platform exchange between the two titans, including Musk's X platform.
Maher elaborated on Musk's contention that Trump's name featured in the Epstein Files, adding, "Now, this war rages on, back and forth, with the stakes sky-high, because the victor might just have to face Blake Lively next," he jested, alluding to Lively's legal wrestling match with Baldoni, ignited by her harassment claim and alleged conspiracy to tarnish her reputation, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
As Trump and Musk's cyber-squabble culminated this week, developments in Lively and Baldoni's case saw a ruling on Tuesday, where the presiding judge decreed that Lively couldn't relitigate emotional distress claims against Baldoni later if she dropped them now.
In a statement, Lively's lawyers, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, clarified that their client was withdrawing certain claims as they were "no longer necessary," vowing to "continue pursuing emotional distress damages through other avenues in her lawsuit," encompassing sexual harassment and retaliation claims.
