Bill Maher: 'American Sniper' Chris Kyle Is 'A Psychopath Patriot'

Not to be outdone by Michael Moore or Seth Rogen, Bill Maher has chimed in on American Sniper and its hero, real-life sniper Chris Kyle. Kyle was killed in 2013, but the movie has brought his story into the spotlight — and the top of the box office charts.

Last week, Michael Moore stated that Kyle and snipers like him are "cowards" and "not heroes" because they shoot people in the back. Seth Rogen then said that American Sniper reminded him of a Nazi propaganda film. Both drew the ire of fans and military supporters from the general public and from the famous.

Now Maher has added his voice to the movie's detractors. On the Friday, January 23, 2015 episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, the talk show host told his guests — including Howard Dean, author Bret Stephens, journalist Nia-Malika Henderson and comedian Bill Burr — that Chris Kyle was a "psychopath."

"Hurt Locker made $17 million because it was a little ambiguous, and thoughtful," Maher said. "And this one was just, 'American hero! He's a psychopath patriot, and we love him.'"

Maher was particularly critical Kyle's book, the autobiography American Sniper that the movie is based on. Referencing several passages where Kyle referred to his Iraqi enemies as "savages" and mentioned "enjoying killing bad guys," Maher suggested that Kyle loved war. Unlike someone like Dwight Eisenhower who Maher quoted as saying, "I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can." Maher also suggested that "hating savages" isn't a proper sentiment for a Christian nation like the United States, where the movie has proven so popular.

Maher's guests didn't share his views. Stephens told the host that he completely missed the point of the movie, saying that the complex emotions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that soldiers have to deal with is what American Sniper is about. He also said that when Kyle called his foes "savages" in his book, he wasn't talking about all Iraqis, just the murderous ones who "put drills into children to enforce order." Burr agreed, adding that "you can't sum up a man by one quote taken out of context."

One could argue that Maher was merely drawing from watercooler conversation as fodder for his show, and taking the antagonist point of view to stir the pot and spark debate. If so, that tactic definitely worked.

All that's really surprising about this is that it took Maher this long to get around to saying it.