Bill Maher has delivered a brutal takedown of what he called ‘cringe’ virtue-signaling and believes such practices have to stop if the Democrats are to ever have a hope of returning to power.
Maher offered up Julianne Hough’s opening announcement during Sunday’s Academy Awards broadcast, viewed by almost 20 million people in the US alone, as a prime example.
Hough started the show with an acknowledgment that paid homage to the Native Americans who once lived on the land where Hollywood now stands.
A land acknowledgement is ‘a formal statement that respects and recognizes Native Americans as the original stewards of the land,’ according to the Natural History Museums of LA County.
‘We gather in celebration of the Oscars on the ancestral lands of the Tongva, Tataviam, and Chumash peoples, the traditional caretakers of this water and land,’ Hough declared.
But Maher was quick to ridicule the gesture, saying, ‘I don’t know if we’re still saying “cringe,” but if we are, that’s this.’
He then delivered his signature no-holds-barred critique, blasting Hollywood’s self-congratulatory activism as hollow and hypocritical.
‘I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again—either give the land back or shut the f*** up!’
Maher called out the industry’s elite, who often make grand statements about justice while living in extreme wealth.
‘I understand the desire to right the wrongs of the past, especially when you get to take the moral high ground and then build an 8,000-square-foot mansion on it.’
He also dug into Hough further as he questioned how sincere her tribute might have been.
‘I’m sure Julianne Hough is sincere about her love for the Chumash people, but I doubt she drives to work in a canoe, scavenges for acorns, or lives in a dome house made of reeds and dried mud.’
Maher then made a pointed joke about the industry’s roots, saying, ‘You want to thank a tribe for Hollywood? Start with the Jews.’
The host then broadened his criticism to take aim at what he called the ‘simplistic idea of guilt by civilization’ – the notion that ancient indigenous societies were somehow inherently more noble or peaceful than modern ones.
‘Can we please get over this idea that ancient people weren’t just as full of s*** – in fact, more full of s*** – than humans today?’ he asked. ‘This idea that being ancient and Indigenous was always better than us? It wasn’t.’
He pointed to examples from history, such as the Māori of New Zealand, who recently passed a law granting a mountain the same rights as a human being.
‘A modern, educated, technologically advanced country made a mountain a person -true story. And now it has all the responsibilities, liabilities, duties, and powers of a human being, which means the mountain can get a driver’s license, vote, or adopt a rescue dog.’
Maher took aim at the glorification of indigenous traditions, pointing out that how many pre-colonial societies were violent.
‘The Māori in pre-colonial times were like most indigenous people – quite war-like, frequently fighting other tribes, with the winners enslaving the losers. And even eating them. Have the mountain tell you that story next time you get it drunk.’
During his rant Maher noted the irony of people condemning the 1950s as a backward time while simultaneously glorifying life before modern civilization.
‘Today’s hippies love to harp on how the 1950s were backward. And yes, they were -as every past era was. But somehow they see indigenous life in the 1550s as the pinnacle of enlightenment.’
He sarcastically reminded his audience that the option to live like early indigenous tribes is still available.
‘You could live outside and forage for food and wash your clothes in a pond. We have that today – it’s called being homeless. And it sucks.’
Maher also pointed out that life before modern conveniences was brutal. ‘It was no fun being alive before anesthetics, refrigeration, germ theory, the fork, or FaceTime.’
He ultimately made the case that, for all its flaws, modern civilization has undeniably led to progress.
‘The march of civilization has been bloody and painful, but we generally got to a better place, not a worse one—not just technologically, but in how we treat each other.’
Maher then pivoted to a deeper historical perspective, pointing out that before European settlers arrived, indigenous tribes often fought bloody wars against each other.
‘Did you know that well before 1619, Indians practiced slavery here in America? The Apache, Iroquois, and Sioux all tried to wipe out their fellow tribes.’
He acknowledged that the European conquest of the Americas was devastating for Native Americans but argued that it was part of a historical pattern of human conflict. ‘What the European invaders did to the Indians? Not good. But also not unusual. American Indians waged wars constantly.’
Maher also noted the polygamous practices of some indigenous groups, comparing them to modern tech billionaires.
‘The Comanche were polygamists whose leaders could bear children with a dozen women – like Elon Musk.’
In a final jab at modern legal absurdities, Maher compared New Zealand’s mountain law to America’s concept of corporate personhood.
‘Today in America, we have something called corporate personhood, which has gone a long way to corrupting our elections. But that’s what we go by – that corporations are people. They’re not. And neither are mountains.’