Comedian Bill Maher blasted the apparent “narcissism” of pro-Palestine activists Friday following a recent wave of contentious protests on college campuses nationwide.
Pro-Palestinian protesters and activists staged several demonstrations on college campuses, roadways and bridges following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks against Israel by Islamic terror group Hamas. Maher criticized “social justice warriors” who are concerned more with their image than the cause they claim to be advocating for during his HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
“And finally, new rule: someone needs to tell the people who block traffic in the name of a cause, ‘No one likes you,'” Maher said to the laughter of his audience. “And you’re probably hurting your cause.”
“I’m not saying there aren’t sincere passions about Gaza, especially among people from the region, but ‘social justice warriors,’ for a lot of them, it seems like it’s more about the warrioring than about whatever the cause is,” Maher said.
“If you really cared about apartheid so much, which Israel does not actually practice — Arabs there vote, they serve in Parliament, they sit on the judiciary — wouldn’t you start with this? With the hundreds of millions of women in the world who live under a true apartheid: a gender apartheid of the most brutal kind?” he asked. “I’ll wait.”
When “activism” merges with narcissism, it’s less about the cause and more about the ego. pic.twitter.com/Ndfa7Sm0gQ
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) April 27, 2024
“Are you really speaking truth to power, or do you just think you look cool in a keffiyeh? Which is really just the new Che Guevara t-shirt: another historical figure you never researched and so think is a hero, but was actually a sadistic, racist monster fighting for communism, the worst form of government ever,” Maher said.
“But these are small matters … small matters when activism merges with narcissism,” the comedian continued. “Less about the cause and more about, ‘Me! Look at me! Watch me! And if you like the way I’m fighting injustice, remember to like and subscribe!'”
Maher slammed anti-Israel protesters for “cosplaying as revolutionaries.” The comedian told activists they will not successfully convince others of their cause by inconveniencing their jobs or families. (RELATED: ‘You Didn’t Let Me Finish My Point!’: CNN Panel Heats Up Over Anti-Israel College Protests)
Maher noted that pro-Palestinian activists demanding a ceasefire of the war at the Gaza Strip staged obstructive demonstrations on roads and bridges in cities including New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle. He said most “normies” have children and jobs, calling protesters “pretty dumb” and “kind of privileged” for thinking they can change minds by making others “late to pick up their kids from daycare.”
Maher also said the surge of anti-Israel protesters “most resemble” presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who he described as a “fat guy from Florida.” He called Trump “history’s greatest attention whore” and said the former president is “always finding some new injustice.”