Earlier this month, Whoopi Goldberg responded to comedian Bill Maher's remarks about the NFL incorporating "Lift Ev'ry Voice" into its pre-game routine.
During a segment, the EGOT winner schooled Maher, telling the Real Time With Bill Maher host that, "We're having to re-educate people."
“In the culture that I’ve seen, we are fighting because there’s a big gap," the actress said in part. "Not just us, Native Americans, all the ‘other’ we’ve been talking about. America, get it together! We already dealt with this."
The response did not sit well with Maher, who responded to the remarks on a Sept. 24 episode of Real Time.
In the 8-minute clip, the 65-year-old commentator told viewers the Sister Act actress missed his point.
“Two weeks ago I opined that it was fine to get rid of the old anthem; we just shouldn’t have two,” Maher said. “The program The View last week dedicated a lot of time to this while somehow avoiding what I actually said. It seemed to be a lot about a need to actually school me on the Black national anthem itself."
The Hollywood Walk of Fame star recounted his upbringing, sharing with the audience he grew up with the idea that "segregation was bad."
"I don't believe we should enforce patriotism by singing anything," said Maher. "I am an old-school liberal who was brought up with the idea that segregation is bad. When it comes to an anthem, it doesn't have to be the one we currently use, but it has to be just one. You know, because it's a National Anthem."
He also mocked Goldberg's re-education remarks.
"Because nothing ever goes wrong when you start talking about re-education. Just ask Chairman Mao. Maybe we can set up some sort of camps," he jokingly said.
After quoting Clark Atlanta University professor Tim Askew, who suggests singing the Black national anthem means Black people are "separatists" and "want their own nation," the Politically Incorrect host continued.
"If we have two anthems, why not three or five. Why not a women's anthem, a Latino anthem, a gay, trans, Indigenous people, Pacific Islander anthem?" he said. "I'm not out of step. Believing in separate but equal, that's out of step by 67 years."
"We need to stop regarding this new woke segregation as if it's some sort of cultural advancement. It's not. … We need to unite as one nation who come together and sing one anthem, always out of key," he concluded.
He continued to back up his rebuttal with a tweet quoting Barack Obama.
"There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America. There's the United States of America." – @BarackObama
pic.twitter.com/LABHXnexfQ— Bill Maher (@billmaher) September 25, 2021
Goldberg has yet to respond.
