EXCLUSIVE: Bill Maher Predicted Golden Globe Loss Due to 'Woke' Hollywood 'Hating Him for Speaking Freely' — as Controversial Podcast Host Faces Backlash for Mocking ICE Shooting Protest Pins
Bill Maher revealed he's been nominated for 33 Emmy Awards and lost every time.
Jan. 12 2026, Published 8:31 p.m. ET
Bill Maher revealed ahead of the Golden Globes he knew he wouldn't be taking home the trophy for Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy because "woke" Hollywood refuses to reward his work with awards, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The comedian's prediction came true, and he shared his foreboding with guest Joel Edgerton on his Monday, January 12, Club Random podcast, which was recorded ahead of the ceremony that was held the night before.
Maher Thinks 'Woke' Hollywood Hates Him For 'Speaking Freely'
Bill Maher said he doesn't win awards despite many nominations because Hollywood is too 'woke.'
Edgerton, 51, who was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama at the Globes for his role in Train Dreams, was happy to have simply been recognized.
"How do you feel? Let me ask you, how do you feel going in?" Edgerton asked Maher, with the Australian native telling him, "I've always set my ceiling quite low in life. Like, being nominated to me is a win."
"Sweetheart, I've been nominated for 33 Emmys, and they would never give it to me. That's like that's not a gag number. It's a real number," the HBO star revealed about his shocking number of snubs over the years.
"It's crazy, right? For Politically Incorrect, for Real Time, for my stand-up specials, for producing, for writing, for performance. Obviously, it's something I said. Well, it's everything I said, because I speak freely, and this woke town f----- hates that," Maher sneered about Hollywood.
'I Made My Peace' With Never Winning
Bill Maher said he would be 'shocked' if he ever won a major award in Hollywood.
When it comes to being a perennial awards show loser, Maher conceded that was his fate for being so outspoken.
"And that's okay. I made my peace with that," he said about never winning.
Maher joked about his first chance at competing for a Golden Globe, "But so, I know how this goes. I have good standing if I win this by some miracle, to go by what people always say. 'I can't believe, I'm shocked.' I really should be shocked if I win this.'"
His prediction came true: Maher's HBO special, Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?, lost to Ricky Gervais' Netflix special, Ricky Gervais: Mortality.
'Just Try Less'
Bill Maher looked clearly stung by Wanda Sykes' snide comment about him at the 2026 Golden Globes.
Comedian Wanda Sykes presented Maher's category and used her time on stage to mock him and Gervais as "mediocre white guys."
"Thanks to the Golden Globes for having me. There's some people pissed off that a queer Black woman is up here doing the job of two mediocre white guys. But first I want to give them some love," she sneered, as the other nominees in the category included Kevin Hart, Kumail Nanjiani, Sarah Silverman, and Brett Goldstein.
When going around the room to introduce the nominees and "give them some love," Sykes scoffed to Maher, "You give us so much. But I would love a little less. Just try less," as the room erupted in laughter.
The Real Time host looked clearly uncomfortable, pursing his lips with a slight glare at being dragged in front of a room full of A-listers.
Bill Maher Mocked Golden Globes Political Pin Statements
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Wanda Sykes and Jean Smart both wore 'Be Good' pins to the Golden Globes to protest the Minneapolis ICE shooting.
Sykes may have been a little extra spicy towards Maher due to comments he made on the red carpet about people wearing pins remembering Renee Good, a protester who was fatally shot in a standoff with ICE officers on January 7.
A reporter asked the curmudgeon about "using the platform for activism," referring to the Globes, proposing, "Do you think that's effective or no?"
Maher jeered, "Come on. We're just here for show business today."
"You know, it was a terrible thing that happened, and it shouldn’t have happened. If they didn’t act like such thugs, it wouldn’t have had to happen. But I don’t need to wear a pin about it," he added about stars such as Sykes and Jean Smart, who wore "Be Good" pins to the Globes.
