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Celeb Lashes Out At ‘Woke Stupid’ Hollywood Stars

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Bill Maher & Rihanna
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Bill Maher mocked awards culture and blasted woke Hollywood as he predicted, then lived through, a Golden Globe snub that turned into a night of public jabs and political grandstanding.

The Real Time host went into his first-ever Golden Globe nomination for stand-up comedy already convinced the trophy was never coming his way, framing the ceremony as another example of an industry that tolerates him but refuses to fully reward him.

Maher laid out that expectation days before the awards during an episode of his Club Random podcast, recorded ahead of the Golden Globes, where he openly laughed off the idea that he would win.

The comedian told fellow nominee Joel Edgerton that simply landing on the ballot felt like the ceiling, responding to Edgerton’s comment that “being nominated to me is a win.”

“Sweetheart, I’ve been nominated for 33 Emmys, and they would never give it to me,” Maher shot back. “That’s not a gag number. That’s a real number. It’s crazy.”

Maher framed the remark as hard-earned realism rather than bitterness, pointing to decades of near-misses across television, stand-up, and documentary work.

He later joked that the explanation for his awards drought was simple and self-inflicted.

“Obviously, it’s something I said. Well, it’s everything I said,” Maher cracked, signaling that his politics and unfiltered style have always carried a price in Hollywood.

The conversation quickly drifted from awards trivia into an indictment of the entertainment industry’s ideological climate.

“Because I speak freely. And this woke town f****** hates that,” Maher stated. “And that’s okay. I’ve made my peace with that.”

Maher made clear he was not expecting a miracle, telling listeners he would be stunned if the Globes suddenly reversed decades of precedent.

That prediction held when his HBO special Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This? lost the award to Ricky Gervais: Mortality.

The loss itself barely registered compared to what followed onstage.

Comedian Wanda Sykes accepted the award on Gervais’ behalf and immediately turned the moment into a roast that cut across the entire category.

She opened by thanking the Golden Globes “for having me, because you know there’s some people pissed off that a queer Black woman is up here doing the job of two mediocre white guys.”

Sykes then tore through the nominees, taking aim at Kevin Hart’s ambition and Brett Goldstein’s voice, before landing directly on Maher.

“Bill Maher, you give us so much, but I would love a little less. Just try less,” Sykes joked as cameras captured Maher looking visibly miffed.

The moment crystallized Maher’s long-running complaint that Hollywood criticism increasingly comes wrapped in identity politics rather than craft.

Maher doubled down during red carpet interviews, taking aim at what he viewed as forced activism hijacking an awards show.

He singled out Sykes and actor Mark Ruffalo for wearing “Be Good” pins tied to the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good during an encounter with ICE agents.

Asked why he was not participating, Maher brushed off the symbolism.

“Come on, we’re here for show business today,” he said. “You know, it was a terrible thing that happened, and it shouldn’t have happened. And, if they didn’t act like such thugs, it wouldn’t have had to happen. But I don’t need to wear a pin about it.”

Sykes, meanwhile, struggled to articulate the meaning of the pin when questioned separately.

“Be Good. Yes. Of course. This is for… um… the mother who was murdered by ICE agents,” she said, stumbling over the name Renee Nicole Good.

She then escalated her remarks beyond the pin itself. “And, you know, I know people out marching and all today. And we need to speak up, we need to be out there, and shut this, this rogue government, um, down. Cause it’s awful what they doin’ to people.”

The clash fed directly back into Maher’s recurring critique of Hollywood culture, which he expanded on during the same Club Random episode.

“The epicenter of woke stupid is this town. It really is,” Maher said, arguing that concepts once viewed as cultural exchange are now policed as offenses.

He pointed to debates over appropriation as an example of what he sees as ideological overreach.

“Now, obviously, if you steal something, I mean, you know, Elvis… did he steal from Black culture? He sang the way he sang. He grew up in the South. I mean, the cultures mixed, you know. I don’t… I think it’s just pointless to hate him for it.”

The Golden Globes ceremony itself offered no shortage of political asides beyond Maher’s orbit.

Director Judd Apatow drew laughs and groans while presenting Best Director, joking about the state of the country.

“I’ve had a beef since my film Trainwreck lost Best Comedy to Ridley Scott’s The Martian,” Apatow said.

“That’s water under the bridge. That was 10 years ago. Since then, we’ve had COVID. I believe we’re a dictatorship now, but I’m still pretty focused on this Martian thing.”

Comedian Nikki Glaser also steered her monologue toward media and government institutions.

“There’s so many A-listers,” Glaser told the audience. “And by A-listers, I do mean people who are on a list that has been heavily redacted.”

She followed with a sharp jab at federal transparency.

“And the Golden Globe for best editing goes to: the Justice Department.”

Glaser did not stop there, turning her attention to the network airing the show.

“And the award for most editing goes to CBS News,” she added. “Yes, CBS News: America’s newest place to see BS news.”

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