Bill Maher Takes Heat Over Tim Tebow Tweet

Even in defeat, Tim Tebow creates controversy -- this time in Tinseltown.

HBO's Bill Maher created a firestorm over the Christmas weekend with a scathing reaction to Tebow's subpar performance in Buffalo. Shortly after Tebow threw four interceptions in the Broncos' lopsided defeat to the Bills, Maher turned to his Twitter page to poke fun at the very religious NFL star. (And a warning: Maher's tweet includes harsh language and divisive references.)

"Wow, Jesus just [screwed] #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere ... Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler "Hey, Buffalo’s killing them," Maher tweeted.

Maher, a proud atheist who supports legalizing pot, same-sex marriage and is a board member for PETA, upset a number of conservatives, according to Entertainment Weekly. Eric Bolling of Fox News responded to Maher by calling him "disgusting vile trash," among other things.

Tebow didn't bother responding to Maher, but plenty of his fans did. Some called for a mass cancellation of HBO subscriptions over the offensive tweet. "Real Time with Bill Maher," is scheduled to return to the premium cable channel on January 13, 2012.

The comedian has roughly 872,000 followers on Twitter. Believe it or not, that's 100,000 more than Tebow's number of Twitter minions.

As for Tebow's Broncos, they'll win the AFC West title and the No. 4 seed with a win over the Chiefs or a Raiders loss to the Chargers this weekend.

Bill Maher has long been outspoken about his dislike of organized religion.