It didn’t take long for most of Stephen Colbert’s fellow late night hosts to speak out on CBS’s cancellation of The Late Show. Jimmy Kimmel was first out of the gate with a blunt two-part message on social media just hours after the news broke. “Love you Stephen,” he wrote. And: “F*ck you CBS and all your Sheldons.”

Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Andy Cohen, John Oliver, and Jon Stewart all followed with their own messages of support in the days that followed. All five even appeared alongside Colbert on his first episode after the cancellation announcement—a clear show of solidarity.

But nearly three weeks later, we haven’t heard a word from Bill Maher. Not on social media, not on his podcast, and not on his HBO show, which returned last Friday after a month-long break.

Under normal circumstances, Maher would probably be the least likely person to stay quiet. But for those familiar with Maher’s feelings about Colbert, it’s not exactly surprising that he hasn’t rushed to the CBS host’s defense.

“Colbert and I are not friends,” Maher said in a 2022 interview with political commentator Dave Rubin. “But the good part of that is, we don’t hide it. Like, he doesn’t like me and I don’t like him. And we don’t deny it.”

The roots of their feud appear to date back to Maher’s 2015 visit to The Late Show, where the two exchanged some sharply comic blows when Colbert—a practicing Catholic—facetiously “invited” the atheist Maher to reconsider his upbringing in the faith.

Colbert suggested that redemption might come from acknowledging a higher power and accepting the mysteries of the universe, while Maher pushed back, arguing that recognizing the unknown doesn’t mean inventing “silly stories.”

Recalling the exchange years later, Maher said their mutual dislike was palpable. “I think you could tell—it’s on screen.”

In 2017, while hosting the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, Colbert included a jab at Maher following the HBO host’s use of a racial epithet on Real Time (Maher later apologized).

Praising the TV Academy for its diverse list of nominees that year, Colbert highlighted several by name: Samira Wiley, Uzo Aduba, Jeffrey Wright, and Viola Davis. He then added Maher, quipping, “I assume he’s Black because he’s so comfortable using the N-word.”

More recently, when Jim Gaffigan appeared on Maher’s Club Random podcast, Maher criticized Colbert and other “liberal” hosts for “feeding the machine.” Gaffigan defended Colbert, saying audiences tune in to hear “Colbert’s take” on the news.

“It’s not a take,” Maher replied. “I have a take on things. What they do is say exactly what a liberal audience wants them to say about that. That’s not a take.”

So why the silence now?

The Late Show‘s cancellation is one of the biggest media stories of the year. Is Maher holding back because his opinion might come off as too gleeful? Is he feeling some compassion for Colbert? Or is this simply a rare instance of restraint: if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all?

Either way, the quiet is deafening. And coming from Bill Maher, that might be the loudest take of all.