Bill Maher And Cheryl Hines’ Comments On ‘Intolerant’ Political Left

Comedian Bill Maher and actress Cheryl Hines, wife of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are opening up about how they feel alienated by the political left, even though neither identifies as conservative. During a recent episode of Maher’s “Club Random: podcast, the two reflected on how their viewpoints have made them targets of criticism among liberals and the entertainment industry at large. The conversation touched on the state of modern politics, cancel culture, and the shifting tone within the Democratic Party, with both Bill Maher and Cheryl Hines agreeing that today’s political climate feels far more divided than ever before.

Maher began by expressing concern that political intolerance within Hollywood mirrors the “blacklist” era of the 1950s.

“I think it would be a tragedy, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the case, that you would lose jobs because this is, it’s funny, it’s a town that loves to romanticize the period in the ’50s when there was a blacklist,” Maher said. “And as they should, because it was a terrible blacklist, but they have their own kind of blacklist now. It’s not like they aren’t sort of recapitulating that, when it was a witch hunt about communists, now it’s a witch hunt for people who aren’t woke enough. You know, it’s not like we’re conservatives.”

He spoke candidly about how his willingness to engage with people from across the political spectrum, including President Donald Trump, whom he’s often criticized, has drawn backlash from liberals who view such interactions as betrayal.

Maher also reflected on the contradictions he sees among his left-leaning peers. “I always say to my woke friends, we voted for the same person, you’re just why she lost,” he said, referring to former Vice President Kamala Harris.

According to Maher, some Democrats have become more interested in “cutting people off” than having genuine conversations, while Republicans, he said, tend to be more open despite their differences. “Trump yells at people,” Maher said, “but he doesn’t want to cut them off.”

Hines agreed with Maher’s assessment, sharing her own experiences as someone whose husband’s political career has made her a public target.

“Well, that is true because the Republicans have been very kind to me, from the beginning,” she said. “Even from the beginning, when Bobby was running as a Democrat, they weren’t mean, and they never have been. And I can’t say that for the Democrats.”

Her comments highlighted what she described as a double standard, noting that compassion, once considered a hallmark of the Democratic Party, feels absent in today’s polarized environment.

Maher echoed Hines’ disappointment, lamenting the decline of empathy and open dialogue in politics.

“Republicans lack a chip for compassion,” Maher argued, “but Democrats used to have that. It’s sad, because it’s not the Democrats we grew up with.”

Despite his frustrations, Maher made clear that he still aligns with the Democratic Party on key issues, particularly when it comes to defending democracy, though he admits some of his peers on the left “get under his skin.”

Maher ended the discussion by contrasting his interactions with conservatives and liberals, saying that right-leaning figures often debate passionately but can still maintain mutual respect, something he feels is missing on the left.

“The left isn’t that way,” Maher said. “They’re more like, ‘No, if you’re not with me, I f-cking hate you, and you’re a deplorable, or you’re with the deplorables, or you’re talking to the deplorables, or you had dinner with Hitler or something.’”

He criticized the lack of nuance in political conversations, adding, “You people are such babies. You’re just not sophisticated people. To quote another show on our network: ‘You are not serious people.’ Serious people talk to each other, and they accept that you’re going to get to this point where you don’t agree.”

Maher’s reference to “Succession”’s famous “You are not serious people” line underscored his belief that the art of conversation, once central to democracy, has been lost in today’s polarized climate.