Real Time host Bill Maher slammed the Hollywood elite for giving Will Smith a standing ovation at the Academy Awards after the actor assaulted Chris Rock on stage over a joke the comedian made about his wife, Jada Pinkett smith. “It was a bad night for liberal hypocrisy,” Maher said.
“These are the very people who are always talking about ‘micro-aggressions’ in the workplace, and how you should not have to face an uncomfortable moment or, you know, people shouldn’t touch you or unwantedly,” Maher said.
“Suddenly, they were okay with this,” The HBO host continued. “It just seemed to show, to me, broken morals. Like, you really have no principles.”
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Some of the celebrities who were seen giving Smith a standing ovation at the Oscars on Sunday night included Power of the Dog director Jane Campion, Boogie Nights and Licorice Pizza director Paul Thomas Anderson, Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch, Saturday Night Live alum Maya Rudolph, and actress Sophie Hunter.
Oscar-winner Javier Bardem, Dune star Timothée Chalamet, Aquaman star Jason Momoa, and actor Bradley Cooper were also among those in the Dolby Theater who stood and applauded Smith when he accepted his Oscar for Best Actor after assaulting Rock.
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“When it’s a star that you like, in the service of some vague principle into intersectionality, like, your wife shouldn’t be insulted even in a mild way, then it’s like, well, too bad. That’s what I like. It made me feel good. So I forget my principle,” Maher said.
“It was a bad night for liberal hypocrisy,” the Real Time host added.
Maher made his remarks on a Friday during a panel discussion alongside former Democrat presidential candidate Andrew Yang and CNN analyst Laura Coates.
Yang also chimed in on the Oscars assault, suggesting that the standing ovation occurred “because it was Will Smith,” and that had it been anyone else, they would have been “ushered out of there very quickly.”
“I do feel like it’s part of the job of a world-famous celebrity attending an award show to absorb mild insults directed at you and yours,” Yang said. “I ran for office and people said things around me I didn’t like, and I didn’t get up and smack anyone.”
On Sunday, Smith strode onto the Oscars stage and struck Rock in the face after the comedian referred to his wife as “G.I. Jane.” The actor then twice shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth” after retaking his seat in the audience — a scene that shocked audience members and viewers.
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After the assault, many in Hollywood turned on Smith, referring to his onstage meltdown as a display of “toxic masculinity,” calling his excuses for hitting Rock “bullshit,” and noting that the actor’s behavior has likely set a “terrible precedent” for comedians on stage.
The Academy Awards also condemned Smith’s actions, declaring that it “does not condone violence in any form,” and later announced a formal investigation into the matter.
Smith, however, appeared unbothered by the battery, as the actor was later seen dancing the night away with fellow Hollywood elites at the Vanity Fair Oscars after party, where he told the Hollywood Reporter: “It’s been a beautiful night.”
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On Friday, Smith resigned from the Motion Picture Academy, nearly one week after assaulting Rock during the live broadcast of the Academy Awards.
“I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct,” he said. “My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.