Whoopi Goldberg Calls Out Bill Maher Over ‘Masked Paranoid’ Comments On ‘The View’

The 'Real Time' host had cracked jokes about being tired about COVID precautions, including masks, on his show, and Whoopi fired back.

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Whoopi Goldberg isn’t laughing at Bill Maher’jokes about COVID-19 precautions. The View co-host didn’t hold back, when discussing a clip from the comedian’s show where he made fun of different safety measures in place to prevent spreading the virus, including mask wearing and checking vaccination statuses. Whoopi, 66, made it clear that she thought Bill’s, 66, monologue jokes were “not funny” in a Monday January 24 episode of The View.

During an episode of Bill’s HBO show Real Time, he’d complained about everything from wearing a mask to getting his temperature checked at different places when he’s out. “I don’t want to live in your paranoid world anymore—your masked paranoid world. You go out. It’s silly now! You have to have a mask. You have to have a card. You have to have a booster. They scan your head, like you’re a cashier, and I’m a bunch of bananas. I’m not bananas. You are,” he joked.

After the clip finished, Whoopi seemed disgusted by Bill’s jokes, especially people who have had loved ones die, because of COVID. “That’s not really funny to people who have lost their kids to this [virus] or people who have lost family members or dear friends to this. Listen, nobody on the planet really wants to go through this. This is not something that we’re doing, because it’s sexually gratifying,” she said, before explaining why so many people are still careful when it comes to the virus. “This is what we’re doing to protect our families.”

Whoopi then offered some advice to Bill before calling him out once more. “You don’t have to do it, but stay away from everybody, because if you’re the one who’s not paying attention, and you’re coughing and sneezing, then stay out of the public, man. Nobody wants this. I don’t want it,” she said. “I think he’s forgetting that people are still at risk who cannot get vaccinated: little kids under the age of five or people with health conditions. How dare you be so flippant, man.”

Whoopi didn’t hold back in calling out Bill Maher over jokes about COVID precautions. (MediaPunch/Shutterstock / Jason Merritt/Radarpics/Shutterstock)

Joy Behar also threw her own quip in about the way that Bill seemed to be putting down all the precautions. She made a joke about him likening the precautions to a bad ex. “They’re over it like a relationship!” Joy joked. After some more discussion, Whoopi once again reminded that some people aren’t able to get vaccinated yet and reminded everyone that they were “playing Russian Roulette” with their health by not being careful, before going to a commercial.