Bill Maher refutes rumors of leaving HBO show: "I'm not going anywhere"

Bill Maher, the host of "Real Time," has stated that he will not be quitting his program, despite speculating about doing so last year.

On Friday, CNN anchor Jake Tapper revealed that while Maher is likely to retire from stand-up tours, he has no plans to step down from his Friday night show, and it may take force to remove him.

"I don't know where this started, but I'm getting rid of 'Real Time.' I'm not going to let anyone drag me off that show," he said.

Since 2003, Maher has been hosting his HBO show and reportedly earns $10 million annually.

In a recent episode of "Club Random," Maher expressed to guest Jane Fonda that he might stop doing comedy because he doesn't want to create material involving President-elect Trump in the White House.

"I may quit because I don't want to do another. I did Trump. I did all the Trump stuff before anybody. I called him a con man before anybody. I did. He's a mafia boss. I was the one who said he wasn't going to concede the election. I've done it."

On Friday night's episode of "The Lead" on CNN, Tapper questioned Maher about the quote, assuming he meant leaving his HBO show. The anchor responded, "There are discussions about the possibility of you quitting the show."

"The HBO host responded with "No." Tapper then inquired, "Well, you mentioned to Jane Fonda that you were considering thinking about that. How far along are you in your career? You still have a lot of great stand-up and jokes, right? So, what's next?""

Maher confessed that he intends to retire from stand-up comedy because he is weary of traveling and has numerous other commitments.

"Just because I've been doing stand-up for 40 years and I'm tired of touring, doesn't mean I love it any less," he said.

He stated, "After comparing stand-up training to boxing training, I have been in training for 40 years. I need a break. I am tired of the constant travel and the early morning wake-ups on Saturdays to attend events after working hard on 'Real Time' all week."

During his show, he made it clear to Fonda that he has no intention of covering Trump anymore.

"I didn't want to do another Trump term because I don't think it will be a great time for America, and I've already done all the jokes about Donald Trump."

Maher stated, "I don't know what else to say about the guy, but of course, he will provide us with a lot of new material. And I'll get into it, but I was hoping that in the episodic television show that is America, I was hoping for some new characters."