Maher: I’ve Supported Affirmative Action, But It’s ‘Weird’ Supporting It More Than Black People do, ‘Maybe It’s Outdated’

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher discussed the case before the U.S. Supreme Court on race-based affirmative action in college admissions and said that while he’s long been a supporter of affirmative action, he wonders if its time has come and gone and he finds it “weird to be more on the side of something Black people themselves are not.” Maher also argued that Harvard, one of the schools whose policies are at issue, has been unfair to Asian students.

Maher stated, “Now, I’ve always been a proponent of what they call affirmative action. I don’t know if they use that term anymore. But I don’t know, it’s been a long time. Maybe it’s outdated. Because when I look at the polling, 73% of Americans say college[s] and universities should not use race as a factor in admissions. 62% of Black Americans agree with that. I find it weird to be more on the side of something Black people themselves are not.”

He added that the Harvard suit deals with Asian students, “And boy, they have done them some dirty. Because, I mean, Asians, they study hard, whatever it is, I don’t know. But they do very well, so well that Harvard basically went back door to make sure that they didn’t basically dominate the incoming class.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett