Bill Maher criticized Whoopi Goldberg and “The View” on Friday after Goldberg compared the experience of being black in America to living under Iran’s authoritarian regime.
Speaking with Congressman Wesley Hunt on “Real Time,” Maher emphasized his belief that Democrats need to take a step “back to sanity.” The left-wing host highlighted how the New York Times adopted a "sensible liberal, not crazy woke" position on transgender issues, saying that now Democrats need to “do something about ‘The View.’”
Goldberg went viral earlier in the week following a heated exchange with co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin. When Griffin noted that Iranians suffer severe human rights abuses under the regime, Goldberg equated this to the lives of black Americans.
“I think it’s very different to live in the United States in 2025 than it is to live in Iran,” Griffin said.
“Not if you’re black,” Goldberg immediately responded.
Rep. Hunt condemned Goldberg’s remarks during his appearance on Maher’s show, citing his personal experience as a black elected official.
“My district in the great state of Texas is actually a white majority district that President Trump would have won by 25 points,” Hunt said. “I’m a direct descendant of a slave, my great-great-grandfather, who was born on Rosedown Plantation. I am literally being judged not by the color of my skin but by the content of my character.”
Hunt emphasized the progress made in the US, noting that a large number of white voters had elected him, a black Republican. “So I don’t ever want to hear Whoopi Goldberg’s conversation about how it’s worse to be black in America right now,” he added.
He further pointed to his own family history, noting how his father grew up under Jim Crow and now has a son who is a US congressman for a white majority district.
“That is America,” Hunt said.
