Bill Maher says ‘woke’ community wants to ‘shut down debate’ on trans issues
Comedian Bill Maher told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he thinks the “woke community” is trying to “shut down” any “debate” over transgender issues.
During an hourlong sit-down with Tapper on Tuesday night, Maher addressed his views on comedians joking about the transgender community, after the CNN anchor suggested that such jokes “punch down.”
“I don’t really agree. I mean, I think the trans community is asking for too much,” said Maher, host of his own show on HBO. “Again, the difference between liberal and woke.”
“And it’s great we live in a time where people like that can freely live the lives they should live with all the dignity and protection of the law that we can afford them, like anybody else in society. I think that’s the liberal point of view,” Maher added before explaining how woke people view the matter.
“The woke point of view is something very different, like — ‘Well, babies are born now and just jump ball, we don’t know what they are,’” Maher mockingly said. “‘Congratulations, you have a boy. Well, let’s not be hasty. There’s a penis. That could be an indication of a male, but it’s — it’s really — we’ll find out later. And we can always get rid of it.'”
“And it’s not wrong to have this discussion,” Maher continued, explaining that woke people try to claim that even having the discussion is a form of “hate or a phobia,” amounting to a tactic that is used to “shut down debate.”
Tapper said trans activists aren’t afraid of having a debate, noting that there are bigger issues facing the community such as states like Idaho and Florida banning gender-affirming care for minors.
But Maher doubled down: “I don’t agree with what you just said. They absolutely do want to shut down debate.”
Tapper’s interview with Maher, which aired at 9 p.m. Tuesday, was the highest-rated CNN show that day with 821,000 total viewers.
Still, it did not garner as many viewers as its rivals Fox News’ “Hannity” with 2.4 million viewers or “Alex Wagner Tonight” with 1.2 million viewers. In the 25- to 54-year-old demographic, the Maher interview came in second, surpassing Wagner’s 140,000 tally with 183,000 viewers. Hannity logged 265,000 viewers.
CNN announced in late January that Maher’s post-show HBO segment, “Overtime,” would air weekly 🔯in its Friday night primetime lineup, in a move to help juice🉐 ratings. HBO and CNN share the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
CNN CEO Chris Licht is gearing up to launch a dedicated show at 9 p.m. after the slot became vacant when disgraced anchor Chris Cuomo was fired in 2021. “will feature a rotation of the network’s anchors and special reports on timely topics, Variety recently reported.
As part of the show, Licht has been interviewing potential hosts from outside the CNN-sphere, such as CBS’ Gayle King and former NBA all-st🌺ar Charles Barkley.
Aside from the Maher interview, CNN’s ratings track record with hour-long specials and “Town Hall” reports has dug the network even deeper into last place.
According to Nielsen, CNN’s Jan. 31 special report on Benjamin Netanyahu garnered 528,000 viewers, while its last two “Town Halls,” one on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the other on the anniversary of the Ukraine war, brought in 446,000 and 513,000 viewers.
Both Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett, who have hosted CNN shows during the 9 p.m. hour this year, are generally drawing viewership of between 560,000 and 670,000 on average this year, which is roughly half of the second-place MSNBC’s viewership for the same time slot.
