Whitney Cummings Gives Her Life-Sized Robot To Bill Maher

Instagram/@whitneycummings

The eerily lifelike robot double found a decent accommodation thanks to comedian Whitney Cummings, and here is a grateful comedian Bill Maher. The strange and hilarious handoff unfolded in a recent episode of Maher’s Club Random podcast, during which Cummings officially handed over the robot to Maher, joking that she had finally found him a “soulmate.”

Advertisement

She said that it was custom-built for Cummings a couple of years back to corral with a stand-up special, but soon after, it became an odd focal point when Cummings admitted she didn’t know what to do with it. “I’m afraid to insult it,” she said in the video, lately he wasn’t aging while she was. The two comedians had a riotous time with the exchange, Maher having nothing crossing his face but amusement and a little bit of discomfort at such an uncanny likeness.

Showgoers ran wild with reactions about the increasingly weird yet fitting father-and-daughter pairing. One user commented on the morbid comedic logic of the gift: “Bill will never love ANYONE as much as he loves himself, so he can just crank that baby up and he’s good to go.” Another quipped, “WhitRobo will be pregnant by the end of the week,” an obvious nod to Maher’s kind of dry, irreverent humor.

The origins of the robot stemmed from Cummings’ obsession with AI and robotics, which she had explored in her comedy before. But now that the initial excitement has faded, she might donate it to somebody who might either come to appreciate its presence or be horrified by it. “I was told I need to child-proof my home,” she deadpanned in the clip. “I didn’t cover the corners or anything. I just took away the things that are mentally traumatizing.”

Never one to shy away from making something weird one of those really odd moments, Maher accepted the gift with a strange mixture of bewilderment and gratitude, saying it was “right up there with the greatest gifts I’ve ever had from celebrities.” And that marks a very promising start, indeed, as a prop since it can be posed and even dressed, and the two of them have since launched into an endless barrage of jokes speculating about its future. “He’s definitely going to bang it,” speculated one commenter. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that…”

Some rejoiced in wonder at the outrageousness of it all (“Omg I totally forgot that she had that made 😂 wonder how much it costs to do”), and others were in awe of Cummings’ ingenious antics and impeccable comic timing. “She is the smartest, sharpest female comedian alive,” one fan declared.

Whatever happens to that robot, from co-hosting a microphone to invoking some rather cringe-worthy banters, goes down as the weirdest celeb gift exchange of the year. Not quite the last time these two will adorn the tabloids with something totally random.

Advertisement

The whole saga is pure Cummings—all at once absurd, self-deprecating, and just the right bit disturbing. And, at the very least, it just goes to show that in comedy, even a lifeless silicone doppelgänger can be the ultimate punchline.