Bill Maher dared to discuss the sacred cow of transgenderism – which instantly caused progressives to attack the liberal talk show host.
During Friday night's episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher," the HBO host discussed a Gallup poll about the increase of Americans identifying as LGBT.
The survey found, "The percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual has increased to a new high of 7.1%, which is double the percentage from 2012, when Gallup first measured it."
The Gallup poll published in February said that each generation had increased by around double from the previous generation. There were 0.8% who identify as LGBT in the Silent Generation, 2.6% of Baby Boomers, 4.2% of Gen X, 10.5% of Millennials, and 20.8% of Generation Z.
Maher hypothesized that some of the massive increase in people identifying as LGBTQ could be because it is currently "trendy" to be considered as such.
“Yes, part of the rise in LGBT numbers is from people feeling free enough to tell it to a pollster and that’s all to the good, but some of it is — it’s trendy,” Maher said.
Maher said, "I'm just saying when things change this much, this fast, people are allowed to ask, 'What's up with that?' All the babies are in the wrong bodies?"
Maher questioned a recent statement by the American Civil Liberties Union that listed groups that would suffer "disproportionately harm" by abortion bans. The ACLU did not name women, but did mention "black, Indigenous, other people of color, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, young people, those working to make ends meet, and people with disabilities."
Maher asked, "Abortion rights affects gay and trans people more than you know – breeders?"
"I'm happy for LGBT folks that we now live in an age where they can live their authentic lives openly, and we should always be mindful of respecting and protecting," Maher stated. "But someone needs to say it. Not everything's about you."
Maher moved on to children transitioning – which he described as "literally experimenting on children."
He noted, "Maybe that's why Sweden and Finland have stopped giving puberty blockers to kids because we just don't know much about the long-term effects, although common sense should tell you that when you reverse the course of raging hormones, there's going to be problems."
Maher then listed the potential health risks of puberty blockers for children.
Maher then highlighted that no gay men were selected as a Grand Marshall for the upcoming New York City Pride Parade. "That’s where we are now – gay men are not hip enough for a Gay Pride Parade," he said.
Maher pointed out that the "prime directive" of teens is to do "anything to shock and challenge the squares who brought you up. It’s why nobody gets a nose ring at 56."
"If you attend a small dinner party of typically very liberal, upper-income Angelenos, it is not uncommon to hear parents who each have a trans kid having a conversation about that," Maher stated, then asked, "What are the odds of that happening in Youngstown, Ohio?"
Maher inquired, "If this spike in trans children is all-natural, why is it regional?"
"Either Ohio is shaming them or California is creating them," he continued. "If we can't admit that in certain enclaves, there was some level of trendiness to the idea of being anything other than straight, then this is not a serious, science-based discussion. It's a blow being struck in the culture wars using children as cannon fodder."
Maher cited Dr. Erica Anderson – a "prominent" transgender clinical physiologist – who believes some children are identifying as transgender due to the "influence of their peers and social media."
Maher explained that children are not just "gender-fluid," but "fluid about everything." He added, "If kids knew what they wanted to be at age 8 – the world would be filled with cowboys and princesses."
Maher joked, "If you are a man who wants to experience life without a pair of balls, you do not have to get surgery, you can get married."
New Rule: Along for the Pride | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) www.youtube.com
According to multiple Twitter reactions, Maher's monologue about LGBTQ enraged progressives. They lashed out and labeled the liberal talk show host "transphobic" and a "transphobe."
A Twitter user accused Maher of spreading "Gay Replacement Theory."
One activist said Maher was "spewing dangerous and hateful rhetoric."
Some progressives demanded that HBO cancel "Real Time with Bill Maher."
There was at least one Twitter user insinuated that Maher be sentenced to death for the crime of being a transphobe.
Surfed through some channels on my hotel tv. Not shocked that Bill Maher was spreading more transphobic bullshit as I clicked past. @HBO it is long past time to dump this hateful bigot. If it wasn\u2019t transphobic it would be islamophobic. Get rid of it.
— Benjamin Ahr Harrison (@Benjamin Ahr Harrison) 1653101863
This is so purposefully ignoranthttps://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1527887977845649408\u00a0\u2026
— John Iadarola (@John Iadarola) 1653144973
2/ Anyone that knows parents of trans kids knows how seriously they take medical intervention. No parent is doing this on a whim. \n\nMaher is conflating non-binary kids with children who medically transition.\n\nI\u2019ve been watching Maher since the 90s. He\u2019s always been a transphobe.
— Brianna Wu (@Brianna Wu) 1653141487
No cishet person has ever been culturally pressured into being anything other than cishet.\n\nIt's simply not a thing. It's a paranoid fantasy cishet people have that one day LGBTQ people will rise up and do to cishet people what was done to them for centuries.https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1527887977845649408\u00a0\u2026
— Matthew Chapman (@Matthew Chapman) 1653146418
Oh great, now we're doing Gay Replacement Theory. This era of anti-LGBT backlash is real and infuriating.https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1527887977845649408\u00a0\u2026
— Michael Schulman (@Michael Schulman) 1653149830
Meanwhile, conservatives such as Jason Whitlock and Steve Deace applauded Maher's nuanced take on the dangers of children transitioning.
Comedian doing his job, creating room for difficult conversations. Thank you.https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1527887977845649408\u00a0\u2026
— Jason Whitlock (@Jason Whitlock) 1653143607
Dayum, he really went there: "This is not science. It's a blow being struck in the culture war using children as cannon fodder."https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1527887977845649408\u00a0\u2026
— Steve Deace (@Steve Deace) 1653144579
Thank you @billmaher.https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1527887977845649408\u00a0\u2026
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1653143025
Great monologuehttps://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1527887977845649408\u00a0\u2026
— Darren J. Beattie \ud83c\udf10 (@Darren J. Beattie \ud83c\udf10) 1653148982
Brilliant.https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1527887977845649408\u00a0\u2026
— Christina Sommers (@Christina Sommers) 1653150217
\u201cKids are fluid about everything.\u201d\n\nBravo. https://twitter.com/billmaher/status/1527887977845649408\u00a0\u2026
— AJ Kay (@AJ Kay) 1653152889