Comedian Bill Maher sparred with actor Jerry O’Connell during a Monday episode of “Club Random” as he argued wokeness was well intentioned.
Maher said on his podcast that boys and girls should occasionally be separated, particularly criticizing the Boy Scouts for allowing girls. He asserted that integrating the organization was “f***ing stupidly counterintuitive” and said O’Connell looked “angry” about the topic as he ranted.
WATCH (Some foul language included):
NEW: Bill Maher *SPARS* with Actor Jerry O’Connell over wokeness
MAHER: “Do you have to always be f*ckingly stupidly counterintuitive about EVERYTHING? … You look like you’re ANGRY about this.” @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/01ie7fY9Yp
— Jason Cohen (@JasonJournoDC) March 16, 2026
“No, I’m not angry. I’m just trying to think about it … this is really what I try to do: I try not to get angry about these things, Bill … what I was thinking was, why would they do that? And maybe it’s to take away stigma of gender,” O’Connell said.
However, Maher argued virtue signaling was the primary reason behind the integration.
“I’ll tell you why, Jerry, they do it. Because the kind of a**holes who live here amongst us, the kind of super woke people, they live to have themselves thought of as the good people, as the social justice warriors,” the comedian said. “So they’re always looking for some new marginalized people to champion. And of course the very thought of it is noble, and I get it, and I’m an old school liberal. We’ve always been there for this. And they take it just 10 subway stops too far to places where it’s just about making them feel like they’re doing something.”
“And you know what? You’re not Rosa Parks. You’re not anybody who’s doing anything. You’re just like trying to be this sort of social justice warrior,” he added. “And there’s no war that needs to happen here. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts — there’s no hate crime happening, OK? It’s just about the way it really is with boys and girls.”
O’Connell said he believed he had authority to discuss the topic because he had twin 17-year-old daughters. He said he witnessed their peers “dealing with this stuff.”
“The goal is to make them feel as safe as possible, especially at that precarious age. It’s just — it’s such a tough age,” the actor said.
“I’m saying it just is sometimes the case with the woke people that they are their own worst enemies with so much of this sh**,” Maher retorted.
The comedian noted that numerous homeless people died during the harsh winter under Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He argued that it was due to “woke” policy of not focusing on getting homeless people into shelters, saying it was just one example of “where the woke people go way past where liberals like me and sensible people are to a place that is ridiculous.”
“I totally hear what you’re saying. That said, I think you’re trying to inflict your ideas on a city that voted for Mamdani and voted for Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass,” O’Connell replied. “This is where we live.”
Although Maher identifies as a liberal, he has frequently criticized the Democratic Party for its attitude and policy.
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