Bill Maher - comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host - HBO

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Oscars 2026: Bill Maher slams “social justice warriors” who are complaining about diversity

Sat 14 March 2026 9:58, UK

Bill Maher has warned “social justice warriors” that it is time to leave behind complaints about the diversity of the Oscars ahead of this year’s Awards ceremony.

On March 13th, the comedian’s monologue on Real Time With Bill Maher hit out at the decade-long campaign, #OscarsSoWhite, which was initially launched as a watchdog for diversity in Hollywood.

Maher shared, “Take the win. The Oscars are no longer a long, boring show full of white people. It’s a long, boring show full of all people.”

Maher made his point by calling out a diverse group of winners from years past, including Everything Everywhere All at Once, Green Book, Parasite, CODA, Shape of Water and Moonlight. He also shouted out Nomadland, joking that it “might be about Somalia, but no one has seen it.”

He pulled statistics into the equation, too: “Eight of the last 10 best director prizes have been won by underrepresented groups, not to mention 60% of the honorary awards,” Maher noted.

He went on, “You can’t argue with a straight face — or even a gay face — that the Academy in 2026 still overlooks minority achievement or that Hollywood is biased in favor of all white people — just Australians.”

Maher quipped, “Hollywood isn’t a secret cabal of racists. It’s a secret cabal of people terrified of looking like racists.”

The star then revealed that he feels “tired” with the discourse, sharing that “no matter how much progress is made, social justice warriors feeling the need to gaslight us as if none of it had happened.”

This year’s Oscars will take place on March 15th at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. It will be televised live on ABC and streamed on Hulu in the US. It will be shown on ITV in the UK.

Notably, Sinners is the most nominated film in Oscars history thanks to its haul of nods, leading the pack with 16 nominations in total.