HBO host Bill Maher on Friday offered an "open letter" to Gen Z it girl and pop star Chappell Roan for her recent anti-Israel statements on social media.
The "Real Time" host addressed Roan, who is openly gay, directly during the "New Rule" segment of his show, accusing her of being ignorant on Israel’s history and telling the star that she would be in harm’s way in Gaza.
"Chappell, if you think it was repressive growing up queer in the Midwest, try the Mideast," Maher said.
Roan, who recently exploded into the pop mainstream with songs like "Good Luck, Babe!" and "HOT TO GO!", has called out the U.S. and the Democratic Party specifically for supporting Israel’s war against terror group Hamas in Gaza following the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
She told Rolling Stone in September that she declined to perform at the White House’s Pride celebration this year in protest of the Biden administration’s support for the year, and in a TikTok video from several weeks ago, ripped the Democratic Party for "genocidal" positions concerning the Palestinians.
"But f--- some of the s--- that has gone down in the Democratic Party that has failed people like me and you, and more so Palestine," she said, though she indicated she would still vote for Vice President Kamala Harris as it’s the only alternative to former President Trump.
Maher on Friday offered some praise for Roan, noting she has said, "I think it’s important for me to question myself, question my algorithm, question [that] is some person who tweeted something about something else even true?" A delighted Maher joked, "Preach, queer ally, preach!"
However, he accused her and the rest of Gen Z of getting their anti-Israel talking points from TikTok propaganda.
"Now first off, the fact that you don’t know much about history isn’t your fault. You live in the United States where the schools stopped doing that whole teaching facts thing a while ago. But getting all your history from TikTok is like getting all your calories from Hostess."
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He continued, "I know you’re moved by what you see on there. We all are. The dead Palestinian bodies. But it’s odd that your generation didn’t seem nearly as moved by the Jewish bodies on Oct. 7"
He then quipped, "You killed at Coachella this year, but when Hamas kills at a music festival, it’s a whole other thing. Doesn’t the sight of so many young women raped at a music festival make it a little personal?"
"My guess is that Gen Z hearts are hardened by the propaganda you see on TikTok, which likes to call the Jews colonizers," the comedian added.
He then gave a brief history lesson, noting how the Jewish people lived in the Holy Land for thousands of years before it became an official country, and pointing out they were there before Islam even existed and much more before various Arab nations demanded the country be destroyed.
Maher then mentioned some of Roan’s LGBTQ song lyrics and told her they could get her killed among the people she’s so passionate about defending.
"You’re a female drag queen, and you sing, ‘I f----- you in the bathroom when we went to dinner, your parents at the table.’ Yeah, that wouldn’t fly in Gaza, although you would, straight off a roof."
As he wrapped up the monologue, he told the pop star, "Chappell, you’re not wrong that oppression is bad or that Palestinian and many other Muslim populations are oppressed and deserve to be freed. You just have it completely a-- backward as to who is doing the oppressing."
