Bill Maher’s Transphobic Mockery of Caitlyn Jenner

One week after defending reality-television personality Sharon Osbourne in the wake of numerous racism allegations, Bill Maher opened Real Time with a cringeworthy monologue addressing the Derek Chauvin verdict for the murder of George Floyd (guilty, thank goodness), and the news that Caitlyn Jenner, who killed a person with her car, would be running for governor of California.

“Yes, well, look, we’re not going to have a riot. People are in a good mood,” Maher said to awkward laughter. “Well, the good news in the Derek Chauvin trial: they found him guilty. So, there was justice for George Floyd. The bad news? If you want something from Foot Locker this weekend, you’re going to have to buy it with money.”

Yikes. Maher then moved on to Jenner, the former Olympian turned reality-television star—a lifelong Republican who, despite Trump’s deeply anti-trans platform, was once snapped driving around in a red “Make America Great Again” hat. Still, there’s no excuse for the transphobic jokes that Maher hurled her way.

“How about this for news: Caitlyn Jenner is running for governor. I know you think of her as a reality-show star, but come on, people change,” offered Maher. “She is trans, rested, and ready. She’s got a great slogan: take the ‘sack’ out of ‘Sacramento.’”

Maher has a long history of transphobia on his HBO show. When he welcomed the far-right bigot Milo Yiannopoulos on his program, Maher agreed with the transphobic troll when he said, “I think women and girls should be protected from having men who are confused about their sexual identities from their bathrooms.” Then, Maher described the trans bathroom debate as “weirdos peeing.” As for Jenner, Maher once remarked, “Bruce Jenner was an idiot. Adding tits didn’t make him a genius.”

However you feel about Jenner’s politics, these transphobic cracks are nothing short of disgusting.