A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a defamation lawsuit from Laura Loomer, ruling in favor of comedian Bill Maher over a comment he made on his show that insinuated the far-right activist had an affair with President Donald Trump.
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U.S. District Judge James Moody wrote in an 18-page ruling that Maher was clearly joking when he made the comment during a September 2024 episode of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Moody said the episode aired “during a time when the environment was rife with jokes and speculation about Loomer’s relationship with President Trump,” and that a reasonable viewer of the show “would have understood Maher was making a joke, and not a statement of fact about plaintiff and President Trump.”
During the show in question, Maher said, “We did an editorial here a few years ago…it was basically, who’s Trump f——?”
He then added, “I think it might be Laura Loomer.”
The episode aired shortly after Loomer had attended a presidential debate and a 9/11 memorial with Trump. She had also traveled on Trump’s private plane.
The judge also wrote that Loomer failed to prove reputational harm or loss of income over Maher’s comments, particularly after Loomer testified that her income increased in 2024 compared to previous years. Moody added that Trump still “continues to solicit her opinions” and invite her to the White House.
Loomer said in a post on X Wednesday that the ruling by Moody, a Clinton appointee, was “outrageous” and that it “should be reversed on appeal either at the Eleventh Circuit and at the Supreme Court if necessary.”
“It is beyond the pale for any judge to say that a woman can be accused of having sex with a man and have it be brushed off as ‘a joke’ just because she proclaimed a platonic love for their politics and leadership style,” Loomer wrote. “The ruling is totally dishonest and misogynistic.”
Loomer did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. Maher and HBO, named as a co-defendant in the case, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maher testified earlier in the case that he made the joke based on Loomer and Trump’s “sudden closeness in the news that week,” according to court documents.
“I could have shown a video of them together and all the places they were together and all the things that were going on, the ‘I love you’ the ‘I love you,’ the blowing of the kisses, you’re very special, all this stuff, and then just said, ‘Hey, get a room,’” Maher said in his testimony. “It’s just — this is just comedy. This is — these are jokes.”
Loomer has established herself as a close ally of Trump, having gained a notable following during his first administration when she was banned from different social media, ride-sharing and payment apps over her anti-Muslim posts. She has since promoted a number of conspiracy theories, including that 9/11 was an inside job, and a baseless story about Haitian immigrants’ eating cats.
The dismissal of Loomer’s case comes a day after a federal judge tossed out a defamation case stemming from a lawsuit filed by FBI Director Kash Patel against former MSNBC contributor Frank Figliuzzi over on-air comments he made about Patel’s alleged partying.
Patel filed a separate defamation suit Monday against The Atlantic over a story the magazine published that alleged he drinks to excess and has had unexplained absences during his tenure at the FBI. The Atlantic said it stands by its reporting.
