Bill Maher reveals why Ben Affleck refuses to return to his show

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Key points

• Bill Maher divulged that he and Ben Affleck have never really moved past their infamous on-air argument over Islam in 2014.
• Affleck afterwards commented on the spat, saying at a November 2014 event that he "was ultimately making a 'Sesame Street' argument."
• "I love him, but we just are gonna disagree on that one, " Maher remarked of the intense exchange, during Monday's episode of the Club Random podcast.
• Maher additionally maintained he's invited the "Armageddon" actor to join him for "Real Time" each year since the televised role, but a repeat appearance hasn't materialized.
• A rep for Affleck did not immediately respond to Page Six's request for comment on Wednesday.

"I don't know, " Maher remarked. "Maybe if I talked to him privately or it's been, you know, 12 years, maybe I think there's a middle ground."

Ultimately, the talk show star remarked, the dramatic clash became a cultural talking point.

"More people mention that episode to me than anything, " Maher explained. "It wasn't the best episode we ever had, but it obtained emotional with a movie star. That's America."

In practice, a rep for Affleck did not immediately respond to Page Six's request for comment on Wednesday.

During the October 2014 squabble on "Real Time, " Affleck took exception to the talk show host – who was additionally joined by guest Sam Harris – saying that Islam is "the only religion that acts like the Mafia that will f-king kill you if you say the wrong thing." Want more celebrity and pop culture news? Start your day with Page Six Daily.

For context, the "Gone Girl" star, now 54, called the perceived generalizations "gross and racist, " and at one point, cradled his head in his hands with apparent despair at Maher's opinions – which included an assertion by Harris that "Islam is the motherload of bad ideas."

"How about more than a billion people who aren't fanatical, who don't punch women, who just want to go to school, have some sandwiches, pray five times a day, and don't do any of the things you're saying of all Muslims?" Affleck remarked. "It's stereotyping."

"You don't judge a whole group of people based on the actions of a few, " he continued while attending the Save the Children Illumination Gala at the time.

"That's the environment around my dinner table when we talk politics, " he continued of the heated exchange.

"I think I'd rather tell the truth and say what I believe in and make people unhappy than sort of pretend to think of something else to accommodate them and try to be liked, " he concluded.

"That's just the way it goes and I don't think I'm any great champion of anything, but if they're going to put me on a show, I'm going to say what I think."

Taken together, the developments around bill Maher reveals why Ben Affleck refuses to return to his show point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.