Bill Maher Doubles Down on Controversial Islam Comments in Speech to Berkeley Students
This weekend, Bill Maher gave his long-awaited commencement speech at the University of California-Berkeley. Many Berkeley students and activists protested over Maher’s “bigoted” views on Islam, which were brought to life during arguments he had with author Reza Aslan and actor Ben Affleck. Maher blasted his fellow liberals for their “silence” on atrocities committed by radical Islamists, and criticized Berkeley students for abandoning the virtue of free speech in wanting to prevent him from speaking at commencement. Those differences were highlighted in a heated debate between Maher and author Rula Jebreal.
Maher took a typical dig at Republicans in the speech, saying there’s nothing wrong with competing with each other to win, as long as it’s done with compassion and perspective — “not like a Republican.” Laughs ensued from the audience. Maher also encouraged students to make the environment and climate change a priority, “because unless we solve that issue, there are no other issues.”
He also subtlety addressed the free speech controversy in which some students did not want him to speak. Maher said that as a liberal, he assumes he can speak freely at Berkeley: “I mean, I hope I can.” He also encouraged students to be “free thinkers,” and blasted the “tribal” nature of today’s political battles.
Watch the speech below (apologies for the patchy audio — we will add a better video as it becomes available):
[Image via screengrab]
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