Bill Maher calls for abolishing fraternities on Real Time over Cornell 7 lawsuit

Left · 2On Friday 9 October 2026, Bill Maher used an episode of HBO's Real Time to criticise Cornell University and fraternities while discussing the Cornell 7 lawsuit. 1 2 Left · 1Maher, who graduated from Cornell in 1978, said the alleged gang rape was "deeply disturbing", joked that "Cornell sucks" and said he was glad to see the university "eating a shit sandwich". 1 Left · 2Maher said such an incident could happen anywhere there are fraternities, and that "any place that’s all male, no girls allowed, just doesn't function without depravity", citing the Catholic Church and the Taliban. Maher called for getting rid of Greek life. 1 2

Left · 2Maher said everything "inherently bad about men gets worse if you put them in a fraternity", listing drinking, cruelty, the treatment of women, tribalism, conformity, nepotism, bullying and elitism. 1 2 Left · 2According to The Independent, Maher showed fraternity mission statements using the word "gentlemen" and cited HazingInfo figures of 128 hazing-related deaths since 2000. Maher also said that no one present knows what happened, but that a gentleman "doesn't exploit the woman; he saves her". 2 1 Left · 2Maher also called for abolishing sororities, describing them as "bitch factories producing the Karens of tomorrow" (Variety) and saying they worsen "cliques, popularity contests" and "backstabbing" (The Independent). 1 2

Left · 2The lawsuit was filed by an unnamed student, identified as Jane Doe, who alleges that seven men raped and drugged her at a fraternity house in October 2024. The Independent says the fraternity was Chi Phi, that she was 20, and that she says she was given marijuana, ketamine and alcohol. 1 2 Left · 2The lawsuit, filed on 16 September 2026 against the university, claims Cornell failed to protect her. Her attorney says that after the university's investigation two of the men were expelled and five received lesser punishment, and that some wrote essays to reduce their discipline. 2 1 Left · 1Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten says her 2024 statement to police, made about three weeks after the alleged incident, did not allege she was drugged or gang raped and suggested that drug use and sexual conduct were consensual. After the lawsuit, Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as independent special prosecutor. 2

Left · 1In a September statement, Cornell Vice President for University Relations Kyle Kimball said the university could not comment on its disciplinary response because of federal privacy laws, that it takes sexual violence "extremely seriously", and that a Presidential Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault reported in March 2026. 2 Left · 1Variety says Maher joins celebrities including Florence Pugh, Mariska Hargitay, Hudson Williams and Josh Gad who have condemned the case in recent weeks. 1