Bill Maher railed against “cancel culture” during a conversation with David Sedaris on Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. The HBO host and comedian claims that cancel culture has evolved and played a significant role in Jacques Audiard’s once-favored musical Emilia Pérez losing both Best Picture and Best Actress at the Oscars.
“There are people who say cancel culture isn’t a real thing, and I would say to them, ‘It just happened at the Oscars,’” Maher said. He claimed that Hollywood was eager to see a trans actress win the Best Actress category, making Karla Sofía Gascón a frontrunner. Maher reasoned that the controversy surrounding Gascón’s resurfaced tweets, which were deemed offensive and racist, torpedoed her—and, ultimately, the film’s—momentum.
Describing her controversial tweets as “a little Kanye-esque,” Maher says she crossed the line by breaking one taboo in particular. “Just don’t mention Hitler,” he joked. “I feel like it never comes out good.” The show host added that while the tweets were brutally honest, they went too far for the “woke community.”
Despite the backlash, Gascón attended the Oscars after issuing a public apology for her past remarks. According to Maher’s logic, Anora benefited from the shift in focus away from Emilia Pérez, which is ultimately what led to it winning Best Picture and Best Director for Sean Baker. Mikey Madison also won Best Actress for her role in Anora, though Emilia Pérez didn’t go home empty-handed.
Zoe Saldaña won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Emilia Pérez, while its “El Mal” nabbed Best Original Song.
