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Judge tosses Laura Loomer’s defamation suit against Bill Maher

The conservative activist alleged that Maher defamed her with a joke suggesting she had an affair with President Donald Trump.

By Jacob Wendler

A federal judge in Florida has dismissed conservative activist Laura Loomer’s defamation lawsuit against comedian Bill Maher and HBO, ruling that his suggestion that she was having an affair with President Donald Trump was clearly a joke.

U.S. District Judge James Moody also said in his dismissal on Wednesday that Loomer failed to prove she suffered any reputational harm or loss of income as a result of the comedian’s jokes about her on his HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” in September 2024.

“A reasonable Real Time viewer would have understood Maher was making a joke, and not a statement of fact about plaintiff and President Trump,” Moody said.

Loomer, a brash online personality who frequently touts her relationship with the president, said she would appeal the decision.

“It is beyond the pale for any judge to say that a woman can be accused of having sex with a man and have it be brushed off as ‘a joke’ just because she proclaimed a platonic love for their politics and leadership style,” she said in a statement. “The ruling is totally dishonest and misogynistic.”

HBO did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

Loomer filed suit a month after Maher speculated that Trump was having an affair with someone and said, “I think it might be Laura Loomer.”

The joke came after Loomer had accompanied Trump on his private jet several times and attended a 9/11 memorial with him. The comedian said in a deposition filed in response to the suit that coverage of their apparent closeness inspired his remarks.

“I made a joke based on their sudden closeness in the news that week,” Maher said. “I could have shown a video of them together and all the places they were together and all the things that were going on, the ‘I love you’ the ‘I love you,’ the blowing of the kisses, you’re very special, all this stuff, and then just said, ‘Hey, get a room,’” he said.

Though Loomer said she received threats as a result of the jokes, the judge found that she had not shown that she suffered any reputational or financial harm.

“The record reflects that, to the contrary, Loomer testified that her income increased in 2024 compared to prior years and that she continues to speak to and meet with President Trump, he continues to solicit her opinions, and she continues to receive invitations to the White House,” he wrote.

Loomer, an influential figure in the MAGA movement, has used her platform since Trump returned to the White House to weed out administration officials she accuses of being insufficiently loyal to the president. She has targeted dozens of staffers across the White House and executive departments, many of whom have been swiftly fired or seen their nominations pulled.