30 most controversial Bill Maher moments

14. Maher suggests dating an Arab man is never good

For better or for worse, Bill Maher always says how he feels. Sometimes he has people agreeing with him, while other times not. But a lot of the opinions he takes are very controversial. And that includes some 2011 remarks he had made about how Arab men treat women.

On an episode of Real Time, Maher gets into it with his guest Tavis Smiley. The two are discussing the sexual assault and aftermath of a journalist who had been covering Egypt. While it’s agreed that this situation is very horrific, they have some differences on who is responsible. This proves true when Maher suggests that this is merely a problem with Arab men in general, saying we need some kind of sexual revolution for them.

Smiley has an uncomfortable exchange with Maher as they debate the issue. But Maher remains steadfast in his opinion, saying to “talk to women who’ve ever dated an Arab man, the results are not good.” This comes across as an unfair generalization of all Arab men, and there were a lot of viewers who weren’t too happy with these comments. Critics slammed Maher for claiming to be an expert on women’s rights.