Bill Maher accused American singer Chappell Roan on Friday of supporting the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and of ignoring the pogrom perpetrated by the latter on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel, in a pro-Israel open letter addressed to the LGBTQ and Generation Z star.
In a lengthy monologue on his HBO political show “Real Time” commemorating the anniversary of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ barbaric and sadistic assault on Israeli soil on October 7, Maher responded to what he considered Roan’s conflation of American civil liberties with the rights of transgender people, women and Palestinians.
“I know you are moved by what you see on TikTok, we all are. Palestinian corpses. But it’s strange that your generation didn’t seem as moved by Jewish bodies on October 7,” Maher pointed out, decrying Gen Z’s alleged reliance on social media for news.
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While Maher did not mention any specific statements the singer made about Israel or Gaza, his rant came after she performed the poem “The New Colossus,” which is featured on the Statue of Liberty pedestal, in June. as a call for transgender rights, women’s rights and freedom for “all oppressed people in the occupied territories [la présence israélienne] ».
Cheers – and some boos – from the crowd during his performance indicated that this was understood as a thinly veiled reference to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and his video footage went viral on social media.
Known for his pro-Israel stances, Maher has further asserted that if Palestinians are oppressed, it is Hamas that is their oppressor and not Israel, and he has spoken out against criticism that targets the Jewish state.
“Chappell, you are not wrong to say that oppression is bad or that Palestinians, and many other Muslim populations are oppressed and deserve to be liberated – you just have your ass completely wrong [argot en anglais américain pour dire l’inverse de ce qui est considéré comme normal] as to who does the oppression,” he lectured.
“Hamas is a terrorist mafia that has taken control of Gaza, the Revolutionary Guards [iranienne] are a terrorist mafia that took over Iran, Islamic State is a terrorist mafia that took over Iraq, Taliban is a terrorist mafia that took over Afghanistan. They are the oppressors, and when you make it Israel’s business, you take the pressure off them. You give them the means to act. »
In a more personal attack on Chappell, he spoke about the Nova music festival, where hundreds of young people were murdered and dozens more kidnapped in Gaza on October 7, amid widespread acts of brutality and sexual assault : “Doesn’t seeing so many young women raped at a music festival make things a little more personal? »
He also described the singer as “defending a place and a culture she would never want to live in”, repeatedly juxtaposing the way LGBTQ people are treated in Gaza and Israel’s more progressive society.
“Chappell, if you think growing up queer in the Midwest was repressive, try the Middle East,” he said.
“You’re a drag queen and you sing ‘I fucked you in the toilet when we went to dinner, your parents at the table’. This would not happen in Gaza. On the other hand, you do – straight from the top of a roof. »
Chappell Roan performing during the first weekend of the Austin City Limits music festival at Zilker Metropolitan Park in Austin, Texas, October 6, 2024. (Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)
Maher also addressed broader accusations against Israel, Zionism and Jews, citing history, the Bible and archaeology.
He rejected accusations that Jews had colonized Palestine and that Zionism amounted to settler colonialism, emphasizing Jews’ millennia-old connection to the land and analogizing such allegations to “characterizing Native Americans colonizers here [aux États-Unis] – it’s ridiculous.”
He also raised the theme of historic Palestine as a land without a people for a people without a land, saying: “For 2,000 years, Palestine was like an Uber driver with a three-star rating: no one wanted it. »
This monologue was not the first time the columnist defended Israel and attacked anti-Israel voices, specifically on American campuses. In April, he attacked anti-Israel demonstrations at American colleges, accusing them of co-opting the Palestinian cause for selfish reasons.
