Bill Maher and Jon Cryer Clash Over Woke Politics and Cultural Sensitivity on 'Club Random' Podcast

On Sunday’s episode of Bill Maher’s "Club Random" podcast, tensions flared as Maher and actor Jon Cryer found themselves at odds over issues of cultural sensitivity, the Democratic Party’s stance on immigration, and what Maher referred to as the rise of "woke" politics.

The conversation took an abrupt turn when Maher criticized Cryer’s reluctance to address the strict dress code for women in some Muslim-majority countries. The debate began after Maher raised concerns about the erosion of Western values, pointing specifically to the rise of Muslim communities in cities like London, where nearly 4 million people identified as Muslim in the 2021 census.

Maher highlighted a "60 Minutes" report in which a woman was harassed for walking through a Muslim neighborhood in London while wearing a skirt, suggesting that some parts of the world have moved away from Western standards of freedom and personal rights. Maher emphasized the importance of allowing women to dress as they wish, asserting, “We should agree that women should be able to wear what they want. If you don’t agree with that, you’re not a liberal to begin with.”

Cryer, however, was more measured in his response. He agreed that women should have the freedom to choose their clothing but expressed hesitation in criticizing cultural practices in other parts of the world. "It’s not my culture," Cryer remarked, refusing to pass judgment on the dress codes enforced in countries such as Afghanistan or Gaza.

Maher responded by labeling Cryer’s stance as “crazy woke,” criticizing what he perceived as an overly tolerant attitude toward intolerance. “That’s where it went off the rails, when we became so tolerant that we tolerate intolerance,” Maher declared, accusing liberals of abandoning their core principles in the name of diversity.

The conversation soon veered into political territory, with Maher blaming the rise of “stupid wokeness” for contributing to President Donald Trump’s re-election, along with the controversial open borders policies of the Biden administration. He argued that the Democratic Party’s embrace of "woke" ideology, especially in the wake of the 2020 election, alienated many voters.

Cryer, on the other hand, suggested that Trump’s victory was driven by factors like public discontent with inflation and widespread demonization of marginalized groups. “Americans hate inflation. They hate riots, they hate Black women, and they hate trans people,” Cryer stated, prompting a visibly frustrated Maher to remark, “Oh Jon, we shouldn’t talk politics.”

The heated exchange exemplified the ongoing cultural and political divides within American society, particularly within the Democratic Party, where debates over identity politics, immigration, and freedom of expression continue to shape public discourse.

As the conversation ended, Maher expressed his frustration with the direction of current liberal politics, while Cryer defended his more inclusive approach. Despite their differences, both men acknowledged the complexity of the issues at hand, leaving the broader debate on the future of American liberalism unresolved.