India, April 23 -- Laura Loomer, far-right critic and Donald Trump ally, lost a defamation case she'd filed against HBO and Bill Maher over a remark concerning her and the president.

A federal judge ruled that the Real Time host's joke constituted protected speech and not defamation, thus throwing out Loomer's case. Loomer had alleged that Maher's joke lowered her standing within Trump's orbit and even cost her a job opportunity. Meanwhile, US District Judge James Moody Jr. ruled any "reasonable" viewer "would have understood" that Maher was making a joke, and not a statement of fact.

After the judgement, Maher's old remark resurfaced online. He had passed the comment about Loomer and Trump back on September 13, 2024. Here's what Bill M...