Bill Maher drawn into near-identical Yiannopoulos controversy

Video of US television host Bill Maher defending statutory rape has "resurfaced" a day after the downfall of professional troll Milo Yiannoupolos in near identical circumstances.

Maher took credit for the apparent demise of Yiannopoulos after he was widely criticised for booking the alt-right poster boy on his show, Real Time, for an interview which many perceived as soft.

But Maher, who is also an agitator of sorts, hit back at the criticisms, telling the NY Times that "sunlight is the best disinfectant", and noting the timing of the cancellation of Milo's book deal and a speech he was set to give at a conservative conference.

But Maher could soon be drawn into a similar situation after vision has surfaced of the talk-show host defending similar comments about pedophilia in 1998.

During a discussion on the case of then 34-year-old Washington teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, Maher claimed there was nothing inappropriate about her sexual relationship with a 12-year-old male student.

"(Letourneau) is in jail because she is in love. That's how I view it," Maher said during a March 1998 episode of Politically Incorrect.

"Basically, they're having a family and they're keeping the mother in jail because she won't conform to what society feels should be the perfect American family."

Maher again defended the inappropriate relationship during a 2007 interview with Playboy magazine.

"I think it’s a little offbeat, but you know, I believe in the double standard. If a 28-year-old male teacher is s---wing a 13-year-old girl, that’s a crime. But with Debra Lafave s---wing her 14-year-old boy student, the crime is that we didn’t get it on videotape," he said.

"Was he being taken advantage of? I wish I had been taken advantage of like that. What a memory she gave him! I would think he’s a champion among his friends."

Maher added that it was reasonable for Letourneau to be fired, but she should not have been imprisoned as it "was true love," and queried "how can a woman rape a man?"

HBO, the television network which broadcasts Real Time with Bill Maher, are yet to comment.