Bill Maher slams woke cancel culture, calls it ‘Soviet’ and ‘Stalin-esque’

"People go to parties now and they don’t want to talk," the cable TV host, social commentator says.

Published: March 20, 2021 2:46pm

Updated: March 20, 2021 5:41pm

HBO "Real Time" host Bill Maher is warning that so-called "cancel culture" has reached an-out-control pitch akin to the Red Scare of 1950s America and the ruthless police state of Stalinist Russia.

Pointing to the recent dismissal of "Teen Vogue" editor Alexi McCammond over offensive tweets she post years ago, Maher argued during a panel discussion on his show Friday that cancel culture polices "not just what you do now ... it's anything you've ever done."

He said perceived transgression now also include "not just what you say, it's now what you listen to. They can catch you for that. What you order, who you say you like, any sort of association, if you retweet something."

"People go to parties now and they don't want to talk," Maher continued. "They're like, 'Can I talk? I don't know your girlfriend. She might be woke.' Really. I'm not making this up."