“The View” hosts took shots at comedian Bill Maher over his criticism of COVID-19 restrictions during their Monday broadcast.
The hosts reacted to Maher mocking the “paranoid world” of mask mandates, vaccine passports and the requirement of booster shots during a Friday episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher.” The HBO host had argued on his show that COVID-19 restrictions, such as mask mandates, are “silly.”
“It’s just gone on too long. Nobody cares anymore. I don’t want to live in your paranoid world anymore, your masked, paranoid world,” Maher said. “You know, when you go out, it’s silly now: You have to have your mask, you have to have a card, you have to have a booster. They scan your head like you’re a cashier and I’m a bunch of bananas. I’m not bananas. You are!”
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg called Maher “flippant” for his remarks. She argued that people unable to receive the vaccine continue to be at risk of serious illness and that the restrictions are in place for protection.
“That’s not really funny to people who’ve lost their kids to this vaccine or people who have lost family members or dear friends to this,” Goldberg said. “It’s just, listen, nobody on the planet really wants to go through this. This is not something we’re doing because it’s sexually gratifying. This is what we’re doing to protect our families and you don’t have to do it, but stay away from everybody.”
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Goldberg said those who do not want to follow COVID restrictions and are “not paying attention” need to “stay out of the public.”
“I think he’s forgetting that people are still at risk who cannot get vaccinated… little kids under the age of five or people with health conditions. How dare you be so flippant, man?” Goldberg continued. (RELATED: ‘Over It’: Whoopi Goldberg Gives ‘The View’ Update After Testing Positive For COVID-19)
Co-host Joy Behar replied that she “doesn’t feel like seeing him [Maher] anymore” for his disdain for restrictions. Co-host Sara Haines pointed out that masks, hand sanitation, and other protocols are likely to remain in place in the aftermath of the pandemic, adding that she may “never feel comfortable” without a mask when located in large crowds or on public transportation.
“I think there’s a prudence we’ve learned with the masks, the hand sanitizing—kind of like 9/11 with flying, is always going to be here now,” Haines said. “Some of the things we’ve learned in this pandemic are going to stay the same. I may never ride the subway again without a mask. I may never go indoors to big crowds and never feel comfortable without a mask and that’s up to me to do that.”
During a guest appearance with Maher on Friday, journalist and author Bari Weiss denounced mask mandates. She argued the younger generation will view the pandemic as a “catastrophic moral crime” for the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
“If you believe the science, you will look at the data that we did not have two years ago and find out that cloth masks do not do anything,” Weiss told Maher. “You will realize that you can show your vaccine passport at a restaurant and still be asymptomatic and carrying Omicron. And you will realize, most importantly, that this will be remembered by the younger generation as a catastrophic moral crime.”
In August, President Joe Biden’s top COVID-19 advisor Dr. Michael Osterholm said that many face masks are ineffective in protecting against the virus and the main goal should be to get citizens vaccinated.
During the ongoing debate on mandating masks in schools, Missouri’s Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed lawsuits against 36 school districts for “unlawfully” enforcing mask mandates. Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin ruled that it is the parents’ decision on whether their child enters school with a mask via executive order, prompting White House press secretary Jen Psaki to cheer on schools ignoring his ruling.
