Elisabeth Hasselbeck made me look good, Bill Maher tells David Letterman
(CBS) Tension was high on "The View" Tuesday when co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck confronted guest Bill Maher about a joke he cracked earlier this year about her and CBS correspondent Lara Logan.
On the Feb. 4 episode of his HBO show, "Real Time," Maher addressed the Egyptian protests in Tahrir Square, saying, "New rule: now that Hosni Mubarak has released Lara Logan: he must put her intrepid hotness on a plane immediately. In exchange, we will send Elisabeth Hasselbeck."While on the female chat show Tuesday, Hasselbeck told Maher she was offended by the joke -- on behalf of all women, adding, "You can't sit here right now and tell me I'm wrong for saying, 'That wasn't that funny.'"
"We do a comedy show for an audience that's perhaps different than your audience," Maher responded. "You are a public figure. It was not aimed at you personally, but when you are a public figure, you are out there and you're fodder for comedians to make comments on."
"The View" co-host and comedienne Joy Behar came to Maher's defense, saying, "We walk the ledge. It's not easy." Barbara Walters, meanwhile, tried to quell the tension-filled discussion.
Apparently, Maher received some positive feedback about his appearance on "The View." He later tweeted, "Its actually fun to be seen as the victim for once (Ok twice, if u count getting fired by ABC). Too bad, I had funny stuff!"
But that wasn't the end of it.
During a visit to the "Late Show With David Lettterman" on Tuesday, Maher discussed the Hasselbeck confrontation. "I was abused," he joked. "I felt like a teenage boy at Penn State."
"It was like, 'thank you, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, for making me look good!," Maher said, referring to the response from his fans on Twitter.
In the end, though, Maher told Letterman he actually likes Hasselbeck, noting, "We have this relationship on TV where we play like we hate each other."
Watch Maher's Letterman appearance: