--- --- # Bill Maher Feels Tweet Heat After Comparing Zayn Malik to Accused Boston Bomber by [Lindsay Kimble / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Lindsay Kimble / People Apr 5, 2015 7:25 PM UTC by [Lindsay Kimble / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Lindsay Kimble / People Apr 5, 2015 7:25 PM UTC Comedian [Bill Maher](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:BillMaher,00.html) is in hot water after he made a joke about [Zayn Malik](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:ZaynMalik,00.html)‘s appearance following his [departure](http://www.people.com/article/zayn-malik-quits-one-direction) from British boy band [One Direction](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,EntPeopleTax:OneDirection,00.html). The _Real Time with Bill Maher_ host made the jab in a short online-only bit that was posted last week. Maher, 59, begins by jokingly calling into question the 22-year-old’s decision to quit the popular group. “I think after everything we’ve been through, I at least deserved the common respect of being told face to face,” he says, while sharing the screen with an image of the pop crooner. “Just tell me two things, Zayn. Which one in the band were you?” he continued, “And where were you during the Boston Marathon?” At this point, Zayn’s image was shown next to accused Boston Marathon bomber [Dzhokhar Tsarnaev](http://www.people.com/article/dzhokhar-tsarnaev-prosecution-rests-defense-begins). Many fans felt the comedian was mocking not only Malik’s Muslim faith but also his appearance. The bizarre comparison lead to a worldwide trending topic [#RespectForZayn](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23RespectForZayn&src=tyah) on Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/pinkfloydharold/status/584715473482227712) > [](https://twitter.com/NiallsBrother/status/584649603078873088) > [](https://twitter.com/1DsUniverse/status/584588463384752129) > [](https://twitter.com/A%5FR%5FSiddiqui/status/584544075606585346) > [](https://twitter.com/oopshisquad/status/584532511423762432) Ibrahim Hooper, the spokesperson for [Council on American-Islamic Relations](http://www.cair.com/), tells PEOPLE that Maher’s comments were out of line. “It shows that he’s really not missing an opportunity to engage in his Islamaphobic themes,” Hooper says. “He serves to legitimize Islamaphobic in the left which is one of the unfortunate byproducts of his intolerance of Islam and Muslims.” This isn’s the first time Maher has been criticized for his comments about Muslims. In 2014, students at University of California, Berkeley, objected to the comedian giving a speech at the university’s December commencement ceremony after [he likened Islam to the Mafia](https://www.change.org/p/university-of-california-berkeley-stop-bill-maher-from-speaking-at-uc-berkeley-s-december-graduation) on his show. Malik, who announced he was leaving One Direction on March 25, is reportedly already working on [solo music](http://www.people.com/article/zayn-malik-one-direction-solo-career-music). In their first interview since his departure, the remaining members of the popular boy band said they remain [100 percent committed](http://www.people.com/article/one-direction-interview-zayn-liam) to the group. — Reporting by Maria Mercedes Lara _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/bill-maher-zayn-malik-boston-bomber-video) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com/people/)_._ ### See One Direction Throughout the Years  Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Zain Malik of One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, England in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, England in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, United Kingdom in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, United Kingdom in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  Zayn Malik of One Direction performs at Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards held at Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2012. Christopher Polk—KCA2012/Getty Images  Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik of One Direction perform at HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London, England in 2012. Joseph Okpako—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Harry Styles of One Direction pose during a portrait shoot at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia in 2012. Sam Ruttyn—Newspix/Getty Images  Zayn Malik of One Direction performs on NBC's Today at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City in 2012. Slaven Vlasic—Getty Images  One Direction performs onstage during Z100's Jingle Ball 2012 at Madison Square Garden on in New York City in 2012. Kevin Kane—Getty Images for Jingle Ball 201  One Direction speaks onstage during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2013. Theo Wargo—WireImage/Getty Images  One Direction performs onstage during the 2013 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2013. Christopher Polk—AMA2013/Getty Images  One Direction performs at the stage during their presentation as part of the tour "Where We Are Tour" at Velez Sarsfield Stadium on May 03, 2014 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cesar Quiroga—LatinContent/Getty Images  Guitarist Dan Richards and Niall Horan of One Direction perform onstage during the "Where We Are" tour at Met Life Stadium on Aug. 4, 2014 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—OneD/Getty Images  Zayn Malik of One Direction performs onstage during the "Where We Are" tour at Met Life Stadium on Aug. 4, 2014 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—OneD/Getty Images  Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Harry Styles on the One Direction TV special in 2014. Jeff Daly—NBC/Getty Images  Niall Horan of One Direction performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Denise Truscello—WireImage/Getty Images  Niall Horan of One Direction performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan of One Direction perform onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Niall Horan of One Direction appears on NBC's Today Show to release their new album "Four" at Universal City Walk At Universal Orlando on Nov. 17, 2014 in Orlando, Fla. John Parra—WireImage/Getty Images  Amy Adams and One Direction members Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan appear on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Harry Styles performs on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan of One Direction perform on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images Bill Maher Compares Zayn Malik to Accused Boston Bomber ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3771691/bill-maher-zayn-malik-one-direction-dzhokhar-tsarnaev/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3771691/bill-maher-zayn-malik-one-direction-dzhokhar-tsarnaev/"},"headline":"Bill Maher Feels Tweet Heat After Comparing Zayn Malik to Accused Boston Bomber","datePublished":"2015-04-05T19:25:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:42.299Z","description":"Council on American-Islamic Relations calls the comments out of line","url":"https://time.com/3771691/bill-maher-zayn-malik-one-direction-dzhokhar-tsarnaev/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lindsay Kimble / People"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3771691/bill-maher-zayn-malik-one-direction-dzhokhar-tsarnaev/","name":"Bill Maher Feels Tweet Heat After Comparing Zayn Malik to Accused Boston Bomber"}}]}] ```