“Real Time” host Bill Maher once again exhibited his willingness to speak out against his own side of the political aisle.
During the latest episode of his HBO show, the leftist comedian took aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci, who invoked his Fifth Amendment rights well over 100 times during recent testimony on Capitol Hill.
According to the New York Post:
“He was caught in actual lies,” Maher said, adding, “The big issue to me is the origin of this, which is very important. How did it start?”
ADVERTISEMENTThe comedian pointed to Fauci’s previous assertions that the virus originated through animal-to-human contact at a wet marketin Wuhan, China.
“He was telling people up front when it first began [that] it was from the wet markets. It could not — that’s a conspiracy theory — if you say it escaped from the lab,” Maher said.
“And he knew better,” Maher continued. “Because we have him in his diary telling us what he was saying to other scientists, who were saying, ‘No, absolutely.’”
His was one of countless voices criticizing Fauci’s performance:
Lets hope action is taken against Fauci, and that he doesnt walk out free from this
— Mimo (@MimoCrypto17) August 2, 2026
1.2 million Americans needlessly died because of this little weasel…
— Zero (@neutral_zero_0) August 2, 2026
"He was in huge harm's way for perjury, which is separate from what he was pardoned for."
Former federal prosecutor Doug Burns detailed why Dr. Anthony Fauci may have taken the Fifth Amendment on Sunday's "Wake Up America Weekend." pic.twitter.com/iK7OJuTzC6
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) August 2, 2026
Fox News added these details:
“I would always have said, don’t do it, but it’s a viable debate,” Maher said, referring to the “gain-of-function” research method. “It’s a reasonable debate — should we soup up something that’s bad, this bacteria, to study it? Maybe if it got out it would be even worse. I think that’s what did happen.”
In June 2025, the World Health Organization released a report in which officials determined “the weight of available evidence … suggests zoonotic spillover … either directly from bats or through an intermediate host.”
ADVERTISEMENTMaher then challenged the controversy surrounding the lab leak theory, which has been supported by President Donald Trump, and suggested the outcry surrounding its merit was largely due to social issues — not scientific evidence.
“We could have had that debate in a rational way,” Maher said. “We didn’t want to do that. Because why? Because we make everything about race. And this is one of the repercussions in this.”
And for good measure, Maher concluded the recent episode by taking stock of the communist uprising within the Democrat Party:
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!