Bill Maher and Ben Shapiro slammed for ‘whitesplaining’ as they spar with Bakari Sellers over racism in America

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Bill Maher and Ben Shapiro joined forces against Bakari Sellers during the July 13, Saturday, episode of 'Real Time with Bill Maher' on HBO.

Kevin McCarthy was also a guest in the episode where Sellers controversially asserted that race relations in 2024 are worse than they were in 1954.

There was a heated discussion on race and Sellers' argument that America’s systems of governance are designed to disadvantage Black Americans.

Bakari Sellers affirms Black Americans treated worse today than in 1960

Following Bakari Sellers' assertion that he and his family, along with many others, had experienced "systemic racism", Ben Shapiro asked him whether he believed Black Americans are presently treated worse collectively than in 1960.

"Yes," Sellers affirmed.

Shapiro pressed further, asking, "Systemic racism has gotten worse since Jim Crow?"

Sellers reaffirmed his stance. Doubling down on his argument, he stated the broader issues of injustice beyond individual acts of racism.

"A lot of times when we talk about racism, we only talk about the fact when somebody calls you [a racial slur]. But very rarely do we talk about the systems of injustice and oppression we have in this country," he said.

He discussed systemic problems like lack of clean water, food deserts, deteriorating schools, and failing infrastructure, using his hometown, Denmark, South Carolina, as an example. 

He said, "I lived in a food desert. I grew up in a food desert where you can’t go a mile or two and have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The schools are falling apart. The infrastructure is eroding."

Bakari Sellers references his father's experience in Orangeburg massacre

Moving on with the show, Ben Shapiro then posed another question: "Bakari, is your life as a Black man better or worse than it would have been if you had been born in 1920, in the United States?"

"All you have to do is ask my father, who literally was shot in the Orangeburg massacre," Sellers retorted.

"He will tell you today that he feels like this country’s in 1954."

Maher interjected and sided with Shapiro. "That doesn't mean it is," the host asserted, eliciting applause from the live studio audience.

"You said he 'feels that way.' That’s ridiculous. It is."

Sellers then criticized both Maher and Shapiro, stating that neither of them truly understood the experience of Black Americans.

Maher responded, "I have to object to that – can I not talk about it because I am not part of a group?"

"I am a sentient human being," Maher added, accusing Sellers of being unable to see the issue without bias.

“You’re right," Maher said. “There’s two ways you can not understand something. One is to be too far from it. We’re too far from it. We can’t see like you can. One is to be too close to something, and then sometimes you can’t see it accurately, either.”

Tension escalates as Bill Maher and Ben Shapiro challenge Bakari Sellers' racism claims

The discussion intensified after Bakari Sellers accused Bill Maher of "discounting" his father's experiences with racism.

"I'm not discounting it," Maher responded firmly. "And to say it was silly."

Shapiro argued that Sellers couldn't equate his father's experiences to claim ongoing oppression, highlighting the different eras they grew up in within American history.

“If I were to say to you as a Jew that the experience of Jews in the United States today is worse than the experience of Jews in Europe in 1939, I would not be stating accurately,” Shapiro argued.

He added, “It’s not true. And it’s also not true to say that the experience of Black people in America in 2024 is worse on a general level than the experience of Black men, because in 1954, in Alabama – which is crazy.”

Sellers fired back, saying, “I think that’s genuinely, intellectually dishonest.” 

Internet reacts to Bakari Sellers, Ben Shapiro and Bill Maher's discussion on racism

Since the episode aired, the comments from viewers collectively criticized Bill Maher for hosting guests like Ben Shapiro and Kevin McCarthy on his show, suggesting Maher has shifted to the right and normalized their views.

One viewer said, "Maher hosting that Piece of Trump Shapiro just proves how far to the right this smarmy little puke has fallen."

Another viewer said of Maher, "He normalized them (Shapiro and McCarthy) like they were cool to talk to while they lied and gaslighted through the whole episode."

One viewer noted, "Real Time Losers with Bill Maher."

A follower observed, "You know the standards are low when people watch this and see an informative and respectful debate."

One comment read, "Bill, if you find yourself on the same side as Ben Shapiro, whitesplaining to a Black man how great he has it, you need to do some sober reflecting on where your life went wrong."

This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.