Bill Maher has a history of sounding the alarm on what he sees as the excesses of “woke culture,” and on the August 1 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, he once again turned his monologue into a takedown of online outrage, this time over Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad.
“In other uncomfortable racial news, sad news, we found out this week that Sydney Sweeney is a Nazi,” Maher said, sarcastically. “No, she’s not, but you’ve seen the ad. There she is, dressed like Jay Leno in all blue denim. And she talks about the fact that she has blue eyes and then says she has great jeans, you know, because she’s wearing jeans! But according to the woke people, this means she’s a white supremacist," the comedian said, giving his assessment of the controversy.
Maher continued, imagining a way to justify the outrage. "It also doesn’t help that her bra size is 36KKK,” he said, then added that Sweeney named her chest the "Proud Boys." The crude joke drew laughter from his audience, an example of Maher’s unique humor within late-night TV. It also comes with Maher's consistent mocking of progressive outrage, something else that makes him stand out.
A veteran of late-night, Maher has carved out a niche in recent years by pushing back against the moral panic he mocked in response to Sweeney's American Eagle ad. Whether he’s targeting Gen Z sensitivity, corporate diversity initiatives, or "woke mobs," Maher has become one of the most consistent voices railing against political correctness.
In Maher's opinion, going "woke" has ruined everything from Halloween to Hollywood. And when he feels the need to get defensive, Maher can take some pretty big swings. That was the case in response to the Sydney Sweeney controversy, with the late-night host adding, "It’s pretty funny that all the online social justice girls are like ‘it’s racist, there is no such thing as good genes.' Right, and then you go on Tinder and swipe left on every bald guy.”
While his critics accuse Maher of being out of touch or insensitive, Maher continues to relish his role as late-night TV's woke police. In a time when late-night TV has been called out for being too far to the left, Maher has earned the approval of those on the other side. He shows no signs of backing down from calling out what he sees as performative outrage and reminding his audience that not everything needs to be taken so seriously.
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