Bill Maher under fire: UC Berkeley students petitioning against comedian's commencement address

More than 1,700 people have signed the Change.org petition

Published October 27, 2014 9:10PM (EDT)

Bill Maher in "Real Time with Bill Maher"                          (HBO/Janet Van Ham)
Bill Maher in "Real Time with Bill Maher" (HBO/Janet Van Ham)

Due to Bill Maher's recent controversial comments about Islam, students at University of California, Berkeley, are petitioning to have the university rescind his invitation to speak at a December graduation ceremony.

The Change.org petition, which had more than 1,700 signatures as of Monday afternoon, calls for U.C. Berkeley to stop the comedian and host of HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher" from delivering a commencement speech. "Bill Maher is a blatant bigot and racist who has no respect for the values UC Berkeley students and administration stand for," the petition reads.

The petition was authored by ASUC Senator Marium Navid, according to Berkeley's student paper the Daily Californian. Navid is supported by the Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian Coalition (MEMSA). The Change.org petition appears under the name of Khwaja Ahmed, who according to the Daily Californian is a member of MEMSA. From the Daily Californian:

"'It’s not an issue of freedom of speech, it’s a matter of campus climate,' Navid said. 'The First Amendment gives him the right to speak his mind, but it doesn’t give him the right to speak at such an elevated platform as the commencement. That’s a privilege his racist and bigoted remarks don’t give him.'"

The controversial comments in question are from a now-infamous debate on "Real Time" between Maher and atheist author Sam Harris and actor Ben Affleck about radical Islam. At one point Affleck called Maher's comments "gross" and "racist," and the comments have sparked a wider conversation about religion and liberalism, and a response from author and professor Reza Aslan (among others).

Maher is not the only proposed commencement speaker to be petitioned against. In May 2014 alone there was a boom of campus protests that led to the declining of invitations by several invited speakers including former U.C. Berkeley chancellor Robert Birgeneau.

According to the Daily Californian, University Relations has the final say on confirming Maher as the commencement speaker.


By Sarah Gray

Sarah Gray is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on innovation. Follow @sarahhhgray or email sgray@salon.com.

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Bill Maher Commencement Speech Islam Islamophobia Protest Uc Berkeley