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On Friday’s episode of “Real Time,” host Bill Maher said that “kids” nowadays “don’t know what the f—” Western civilization actually is, joking that pop stars like Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan would say it’s all about “oppression.”
Maher introduced the topic by referencing Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last week, where he said, “We are part of one civilization — Western civilization.”
Rubio’s comments served as a springboard for a broader conversation about the Western world and, more specifically, how the younger generations view it.
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“Real Time” host Bill Maher May 20, 2024, in New York. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
“I want to, first of all, say something about Western civilization. Kids, you don’t know what the f— it is,” he asserted. “They think Western means White and White means bad. Kids, first of all, everything bad that White people did, people of color did it too. The Japanese before World War II and during World War II and Genghis Khan, and I could go on and on.”
The late-night host argued that “the left is very down on America” and the West, which he felt was ironic considering the Western world has “given us everything that makes your life good here.”
“Don’t ask Billie Eilish or Chappell Roan about what the Western values are because they’ll just say it’s about oppression, but it’s not about oppression,” he continued. “It’s about rule of law. It’s about respect for minorities. It’s about democracy. It’s about scientific inquiry.”
Maher contended that the examples he listed are all examples of the “good things” that came from the West, adding that he wished “schools would teach that again.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Roan and Eilish for comment, but did  not immediately hear back.
This was not the first time the “Real Time” host had called out Eilish, as he criticized the singer earlier this month for what he described as “virtue signaling” during her anti-ICE speech at the 2026 Grammys.
Real Time host Bill Maher criticized singer Billie Eilish’s 2026 Grammys speech against ICE. (Screenshot/HBO;Getty)
Eilish, who won Song of the Year at the music award show, condemned ICE during her acceptance speech. The 24-year-old went viral when she declared, “No one is illegal on stolen land.”
Maher picked apart a transcript of Eilish’s speech, which began with the singer saying, “It’s hard to know what to say.”
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“Then, don’t say anything, ‘cause you don’t know things,” he charged. “You didn’t go to school, I don’t think, and you don’t know facts.”
However, Maher admitted he agreed with Eilish on one subject, before roasting her credibility on immigration.
“She said, ‘Keep fighting and protesting and speaking up.’ I totally agree with that,” Maher continued. “She said, ‘Voices [really do] matter…people matter.’”
Finneas, left, and Billie Eilish accept the award for song of the year for “Wildflower” during the 68th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello/AP Photo)
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Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Samsel contributed to this report.
