Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher has criticized wealthy celebrities for their "tone-deaf" pronouncements during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly their claims of solidarity that he argued did not reflect their reality.
On his "Club Random" podcast, Maher discussed with media mogul Byron Allen the disconnect between celebrity rhetoric and the experiences of ordinary Americans during the pandemic. Maher recounted frequently seeing messages like "We're all in it together" on television, stating, "No we're not, you f---ing a--holes, you f---ing posers." He characterized these celebrities as the group "sitting home in your pajamas" while others were providing essential services.
Maher suggested that if the sentiment of unity were genuine, the roles might be reversed. "How about we take turns about who's working for Grubhub?" he proposed. "If we're really all in it together, maybe that should be something that has to get passed around."
He pointed to a moment during the pandemic when celebrities, including Gal Gadot, Will Ferrell, and Mark Ruffalo, participated in a video singing John Lennon's "Imagine." The lyrics, particularly "Imagine there's no heaven" and "Imagine no possessions," were seen by some as particularly out of touch given the widespread loss of life and livelihoods.
Gal Gadot later commented that the video was "in poor taste" in retrospect. Maher, who identifies as left-leaning, has frequently spoken about what he perceives as a lack of connection between liberal celebrities and the everyday struggles of Americans, suggesting they are insulated from these issues.
Allen noted that during the pandemic, many New Yorkers who had the means relocated from the city to places like Aspen or the Hamptons, illustrating a disconnect Maher used to highlight the hypocrisy he observed. Mentioning that Maher himself prefers living in a house over an apartment building due to the shared walls in the latter, Allen commented that many New Yorkers "definitely started to agree with us when COVID hit." Maher's critique focuses on what he sees as a performative solidarity from wealthy individuals who did not experience the same hardships as the general population during the global health crisis.