Bill Burr says cancel culture is over. Bill Maher isn’t so sure. The one thing the two Bills in comedy can agree on? Louis C.K. should be welcomed back into their industry.

On Sunday’s episode of Maher’s podcast, “Club Random,” the political commentator and comic had a nearly two-hour conversation that touched on everything from self-driving cars to the Israel-Hamas war.

Disgraced comedian C.K. came up when Maher told Burr he had a bright future as a director and likened his work to C.K.’s directorial ventures. The pair agreed they enjoyed the 2022 film “Fourth of July,” which the “Louie” actor directed, independently produced and financed.

“Don’t get me started on that,” Maher said of C.K.’s struggle to successfully return to the entertainment industry after being accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct at the height of the #MeToo movement.

“Isn’t it time everyone just went, ‘OK, it wasn’t a cool thing to do, but it’s been long enough and welcome back?’” Maher said.

In a 2017 New York Times article, actors and comedians Dana Min Goodman, Julia Wolov, Abby Schachner, Rebecca Corry and a fifth woman who remained anonymous alleged that C.K. masturbated — or requested to — in front of them. He later admitted to the behavior and acknowledged there was a power imbalance between him and the female comics, saying he “wielded that power irresponsibly.”

Burr agreed with Maher’s assessment, and said, “They took $50 million from him, I think they punished him,” referring to the $35 million C.K. said he lost in “one hour” from the blow to his reputation, likely speaking hyperbolically.

“Enough! For Christ’s sake, it’s not the end of the world,” Maher added. “People have done so much worse things and gotten less. There’s no rhyme or reason to this #MeToo-type punishment.”

Burr and Maher agreed that C.K.’s future work should be embraced instead of avoided, as it has been since the allegations were made public. In the wake of the scandal, “I Love You, Daddy,” the 2017 movie that C.K. wrote, directed and starred in, was shelved. “Fourth of July” was a box office bomb, making just under $10,000 in its U.S. opening weekend.

They disagreed, however, when Burr declared that cancel culture was over, saying, “nobody cares anymore.” The comedian went on to say he doesn’t think about being canceled based on his comedy and disagrees with the idea that the content of a comic’s jokes are cancel-worthy.

“That’s so not true. Either one of us could get canceled in the next two minutes,” Maher said.

Even though his films following his Hollywood ouster were unsuccessful, C.K. has managed to make a somewhat quiet return to comedy. He started touring again in 2019 with an “anti-woke”-themed stand-up show meant to appeal to those fed up with cancel culture. He won a Grammy in 2022 for his comedy album “Sincerely Louis C.K.” and was nominated again in the same category last year.

THE BLUE ANGELS is a very captivating documentary on IMAX and Amazon Prime about the famous Navy exhibition team. The movie explores a year in the life of a particular team as they go through training, exhibitions and then retirement from the Blue Angels. The movie starts by telling viewers that the Navy has about 3700 combat pilots in active duty every year. Out of that, six are chosen to be members of the Blue Angels for about two years. In January, the six men featured in the movie are put through intensive training for three months. Their exhibitions feature flying that’s absolutely amazing for its need for precision and perfection. After training, the pilots travel the country like a sports team or rock band to 32 shows. Toward the end of their year-long exhibitions, the pilots choose the people to replace them.

THE BLUE ANGELS is an excellent family movie. It will inspire children and adults. Except for one very light obscenity, this one of the cleanest, most wholesome movies since the Golden Age of Hollywood. It’s highly recommended by MOVIEGUIDE®.

(BBB, PPP, L, V):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Extremely moral worldview promoting excellence, teamwork and graciousness between the superior pilots who are chosen to be part of The Blue Angels jet plane exhibition team of the United States Navy for two years, with some pro-family themes;

Foul Language:

One “a…h…” obscenity;

Violence:

No depicted violence but exciting and dangerous maneuvers at very high speeds and reports about the 28 Blue Angel pilots who died during their expositions and several pilots chosen to be Blue Angeles pass out in the G forces experienced in a centrifuge;

Sex:

No sex, but discussions of how much the pilots love their families and family reunions;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Nothing else objectionable.

THE BLUE ANGELS is a very captivating documentary on IMAX and Amazon Prime about the famous Navy exhibition team and a year in the life of a particular team as they go through training , exhibitions and then retirement from the Blue Angels. THE BLUE ANGELS is one of the most moral, uplifting and positive movies ever made.

The movie starts by telling viewers that the Navy has about 3700 combat pilots in active duty every year. Out of that, six are chosen to be members of the Blue Angels for two years. In January, the six men featured in the movie are put through intensive training for three months. Their exhibitions feature flying that is absolutely amazing for its need for precision and perfection. For instance, in the famous Navy diamond, six planes fly at over 400 mph extremely close to each other with just a few inches between their wings, so one little slipup can cause a disaster.

At El Centro, Calif., their flying involves experiencing seven Gs on a centrifuge, which forces the blood down into your feet and causes pilots to pass out. Some of them do pass out in training on the centrifuge later in the movie. Of course, you can’t mess up when you’re flying wingtip to wingtip. So, each pilot must get incredible control of their body, mentally and physically. The crew chief spends hours every day talking to them about their procedures.

After training, the pilots travel the country like a sports team or a rock band to perform 32 shows around the country. At one point during those shows, they return to Pensacola, Florida, which is the official home of the Blue Angels. There, they’re united with their wives and children. Many of their wives are also serving in the Navy. During this part of the movie, they discuss the 141 Blue Angels support people, with each pilot having his own support team.

Toward the end of their year-long exhibitions, the pilots choose the people to replace them. Choosing the boss is extremely difficult. Pilots who serve their two years on the Blue Angels, return to active service in the Navy. For the first time during this movie, the Navy appoints a woman to be a member of the Blue Angels, leaving it open ended whether she can perform under the stress to achieve perfection.

The last part of the movie shows a little bit of the history of the Blue Angels and the fact it was started by Admiral Nimitz in 1946 to show the world the Navy’s prowess in flying in planes as well as in ships. Many of the pilots testify they saw a Blue Angels exhibition when they were six and even four years old, and therefore caught the vision of becoming member of this elite team.

THE BLUE ANGELS is an excellent family movie. It will inspire children and adults. Except for one very light obscenity, this one of the cleanest, most wholesome movies since the Golden Age of Hollywood. It’s highly recommended by MOVIEGUIDE®.

4000+ Faith Based Articles and Movie Reviews – Will you Support Us?

Our small team works tirelessly to provide resources to protect families from harmful media, reviewing 415 movies/shows and writing 3,626 uplifting articles this year. We believe that the gospel can transform entertainment. That’s why we emphasize positive and faith-filled articles and entertainment news, and release hundreds of Christian movie reviews to the public, for free. No paywalls, just trusted, biblically sound content to bless you and your family. Online, Movieguide is the closest thing to a biblical entertainment expert at your fingertips. As a reader-funded operation, we welcome any and all contributions – so if you can, please give something. It won’t take more than 52 seconds (we timed it for you). Thank you.

4000+ Faith Based Articles and Movie Reviews – Will you Support Us?

Our small team works tirelessly to provide resources to protect families from harmful media, reviewing 415 movies/shows and writing 3,626 uplifting articles this year. We believe that the gospel can transform entertainment. That’s why we emphasize positive and faith-filled articles and entertainment news, and release hundreds of Christian movie reviews to the public, for free. No paywalls, just trusted, biblically sound content to bless you and your family. Online, Movieguide is the closest thing to a biblical entertainment expert at your fingertips. As a reader-funded operation, we welcome any and all contributions – so if you can, please give something. It won’t take more than 52 seconds (we timed it for you). Thank you.

John Barbata, the classic rock drummer who played on era-defining records by the Turtles, Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, has died. He was 79.

Jefferson Airplane (and its offshoot Jefferson Starship) confirmed Barbata’s death in official posts on their social media accounts. A full list of survivors and exact date of death were not immediately available.

Barbata was “known for his exceptional talent,” Jefferson Airplane wrote in its statement announcing his death. “Back in ‘72, during a hiatus for CSN&Y, David Crosby introduced John to the Airplane, who hired John instantly. You can hear John’s drumming skills on the band’s final studio album, ‘Long John Silver,’ as well as the live album ‘Thirty Seconds Over Winterland.’”

Barbata, born in New Jersey, moved to Southern California as a teenager, playing in surf-rock bands — he was a member of the Sentinels, whose “La Tinia” was a local radio hit in 1961 — before joining the Turtles, then riding high after their 1965 cover of “It Ain’t Me Babe.” Barbata recorded on their chart-topper and defining track “Happy Together” and the follow-up smash “She’d Rather Be With Me.”

Barbata stayed with the group through their final three albums, 1967’s “Happy Together,” 1968’s “The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands” and 1969’s “Turtle Soup.” In his memoir, he recalled a wild London trip where he partied with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones, a night that went sideways when a Turtles roadie spilled a pitcher of beer on Lennon.

After the Turtles broke up, Barbata joined CSNY for a run of tour dates that were documented on the live album “4 Way Street,” where he played drums on Neil Young‘s “Ohio,” written in the wake of the Kent State campus shootings.

When that group went on hiatus, Barbata performed on several of its members’ solo albums, including Young’s “Time Fades Away,” Graham Nash’s “Songs for Beginners” and Stephen Stills’ 1970 self-titled record. (Barbata also famously played a 45-minute drum solo to prevent a riot when 1969’s Atlanta Pop Festival suffered a power outage.)

David Crosby recruited him to join the final Jefferson Airplane lineup, and the band later brought him into Jefferson Starship, where he played on hits like “Miracles” over four LPs: 1974’s “Dragon Fly,” 1975’s “Red Octopus”, 1976’s “Spitfire” and 1978’s “Earth.”

Along the way, he recorded and toured with Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Leon Russell, Doctor John, the Everly Brothers and many more. Barbata, as he recounts in his memoir, declined both an opportunity to drum for Elvis Presley and a chance to join the Eagles, telling the Phoenix New Times that “[David] Geffen walked over to me and said, ‘There is a new group forming, and they want you to be part of it. They are called the Eagles.’ I said, ‘Who the hell are the Eagles? I never heard of them.”

A 1978 car accident and long recovery necessitated his departure from Jefferson Starship, and he largely left the music industry afterward. Barbata published a memoir, “The Legendary Life of a Rock Star Drummer,” in 2005. He eventually moved to southern Oklahoma, where he spent his last years.

“It was a wild ride, and one that I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience,” Barbata told the Oklahoman in 2005. “It was an experience, and one that allowed me to make a lot of money doing what I love to do: make music and perform. I met a lot of great people, learned a lot of hard lessons and eventually met the woman of my dreams.

“What more could a guy from New Jersey ask for?”