Bill Maher slams Oscars, says Hollywood is ‘a secret cabal of people terrified of looking like racists’

Comedian Bill Maher delivered a scathing critique of the longstanding #OscarsSoWhite campaign ahead of Sunday’s Academy Awards, arguing that complaints about a lack of diversity should cease after the push has led to a far more diverse group of winners. 

“Hollywood isn’t a secret cabal of racists. It’s a secret cabal of people terrified of looking like racists,” the “Real Time” host said during Friday’s episode.

“And I’m just tired of, no matter how much progress is made, social justice warriors feeling the need to gaslight us as if none of it had happened.”

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Comedian & writer Bill Maher is pictured during an interview on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 (Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)

Maher blasted “progressives” for the decade-long push to increase minority representation at the ceremony, even as more recent Oscar-winning films and stars have featured traditionally “underrepresented groups.”

In the process, he listed several recent Academy Award-winning films, including “Moonlight,” “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “The Shape of Water,” and “Nomadland.”

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Actor Ke Huy Quan’s speech went viral after “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2023, with Quan himself winning an award for “Best Supporting Actor.” (Academy Awards screenshot)

He also listed winning actors Will Smith, Ke Huy Quan, Zoe Saldaña, Regina King and others before delving into how many recent Best Director and honorary award winners also came from underrepresented groups.

“Someone must wear a ribbon that says, ‘We won.’ Just as a way to remind progressives, ‘Hey, you’re progressive. Progress is what you’re selling. Take the win,'” he quipped.

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An Oscar statue appears outside the Dolby Theatre for the 87th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 21, 2015.  (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

“The Oscars are no longer a long, boring show full of white people. It’s a long, boring show full of all people,” he added.

Maher’s critique continued, pointing to inclusion standards implemented by the Academy in recent years, requiring Best Picture contenders to feature underrepresented groups in at least 30% of the film’s crew, among other requirements.

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“No one can argue with a straight face… that the Academy in 2026 still overlooks minority achievement or that Hollywood is biased in favor of all white people – just Australians,” he quipped. 

The Academy did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.