Comedian Bill Maher confronted well-known astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson during a recent episode of his “Club Random” podcast, accusing him of “taking the path of least resistance” rather than confronting woke insanity when he saw it.
The conversation hinged on free speech on college campuses, and whether or not a comedian could perform anything truly funny without immediately being “canceled” by the woke mob — a question that Maher answered with a resounding “no.”
Tyson complained that Maher was effectively dismissing “an entire generation” out of hand, and argued that perhaps he should adjust his material and joke about topics that students found acceptable.
“So why is it their fault and not your fault?” he asked.
WATCH:
“THESE PEOPLE ARE FUCKING NUTS AND YOU SHOULD BE CALLING THEM OUT.”
Bill Maher blasts Neil deGrasse Tyson for placating to the Woke ideology instead of challenging it. pic.twitter.com/QDcOoB900G
— Mythinformed (@MythinformedMKE) November 5, 2023
“I have given up on any place that doesn’t even remotely attempt to believe in free speech, and thinks that anything they hear that they don’t like, that they don’t agree with is violence. These people are f***ing nuts, and you should be calling them out,” Maher said, turning the argument back on Tyson.
“You’re doing what parents do: You’re taking the path of least resistance, and therefore hurting the kids and yourself,” Maher continued. “Parents ruin both their lives. They ruin their f***ing spoiled kids’ lives, and they ruin their own lives because the kids rule the roost. So that’s what you’re doing on a national level.”
Tyson pushed back, saying that his goal was to keep his audience so that he could continue to influence the younger generation on topics that were truly important — which was why he said that he tried to avoid the cultural “land mines” that could make that impossible.
“It’s not good enough to be right, you also have to be effective,” he said.
“It’s great that Maher calls him out. But Tyson isn’t just failing to confront wokeness; he’s actively promoting it,” Seth Dillon responded.
It's great that Maher calls him out. But Tyson isn't just failing to confront wokeness; he's actively promoting it. https://t.co/Yghg6iVOIL
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) November 6, 2023
“Neil deGrasse Tyson can either get invited on to mainstream news programs and be a pop culture sensation, or he can say obviously true things. You cannot do both. This is the cultural malaise we’re stuck in,” another pointed out on X.