Bill Maher likens Zayn Malik to a terrorist

Bill Maher has sparked a twitter storm after comparing former One Direction star Zayn Malik to a terrorist.

The stridently atheist comic was accused of Islamophobia after likening the boy band star to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is currently on trail over the Boston Marathon bombings.

His gag, which appeared on a clip released online only, seems to be just about their physical similarities… but the fact that 22-year-old Malik is a Muslim prompted the outrage.

Maher joked: ‘I think after everything we’ve been through, I at least deserved the common respect of being told face to face.

‘Just tell me two things, Zayn. Which one in the band were you? And where were you during the Boston Marathon?’

At that point Zayn’s picture is shown next to that of Tsarnaev, who is currently on trial over the Boston terror attacks that killed three people.

Maher got a shocked ‘ooh’ from the crowd before a laugh, then some applause, breaks out.

One Direction fans were quick to call Maher out on his alleged Islamophobia, calling #RespectForZayn to trend on Twitter.

‘This is racism. I'm so disgusted,’ tweeted 1DFamily; another Twitter users said: ‘Terrorist jokes aren't funny and being a Muslim doesn't make you a terrorist’ and a fan going by We’llMissUZayn:O said: ’There’s a fine line between calling it a joke and disrespecting someone on the basis of religion. And they call us immature.

Maher has been criticised for his comments about Islam before. Last year, students in California protested about him being given a platform after he likened Islam to the Mafia.

Malik was brought up a Muslim in Bradford, but rarely speaks about his religion. He has been by conservatives because of his tattoos and his lifestyle do not adhere to their strict doctrine.

In the ongoing court case, Tsarnaev’s lawyers have conceded his involvement in the April 2013 attacks but are presenting a defence on 30 charges to avoid the death sentence.

Here’s the offending clip from the official YouTube channel of the HBO show Real Time With Bill Maher:

Published: 5 Apr 2015