Comedian Bill Maher and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson had a tense clash over the issue of transgender athletes in sports.
As part of a broader discussion of the many reasons why Democrats lost the 2024 election, Maher and Tyson delved into the topic of former editor-in-chief Laura Helmut's recent resignation. scientific american The magazine resigned from its post after it was discovered that a social media post in which it called those who voted for President Trump “the meanest, the stupidest, the most bigoted” people was deleted.
Helmut cited the post-election posts as “shock and confusion.”
Helmut's explanation and the magazine's coverage of scientific issues did not impress Maher. scientific american Addressing the issue of transgender athletes. Maher took special exception to an article in which the magazine blamed “gender bias” on resistance to allowing trans athletes to compete in women's sports.
Maher said, reading from the specific article he referenced: I didn't think I was the person who wanted to run Scientific American. It was a rant about [BlueSky]. I was able to read it to you. It's really ugly. “I apologize to my young voters that my Gen I'm not in favor of canceling people on either side, but this is what I think is scandalous. This was published less than a year ago in Scientific American magazine and stated that “men and women are the result of biases in how they are treated in sports rather than inherent biological differences. “It's an injustice between male and female athletes.” That's strange. And it's certainly not scientific. And it's in Scientific American. And that's why Democrats lost the election. That's true. “
Mr. Tyson accused Mr. Maher of fabricating another reason why Democrats lost the election.
“Bill, every 20 minutes on the podium you come up with another reason why the Democrats lost. You already have the answer. They lost the election. So why didn't they? Whatever you say—”
But Maher said: “First of all, you don’t watch this show so you don’t know – that’s okay, but you’re talking like you do and you’re an asshole for not watching it. It’s okay, Don't make jokes. That's one thing people can never do on this show is make fun of me. That's it. Okay, I don't say that. There are very good reasons. But let's get to the idea here. What I want to hear is what Scientific American basically says. The thing is, the reason NBA and WNBA teams can't beat the Lakers is because of social prejudice.
Tyson said, “What you're saying is not what Scientific American is saying. The editor of Scientific American is no longer in that position, so just because someone else is going doesn't mean it.'' I hope that the magazine, which has a 170-year history, will not be prosecuted.”
Mr. Maher retorted, “This is Scientific American. They're printing something-“
Tyson emphasized, “Someone is going to get into the cesspool and social media and participate in that interaction, so let's talk science!”
Maher demanded, “Why can't we just say this is not scientific and Scientific American should do better?!”
“So, does she still have a job?” Tyson asked.
“It's not her fault! I said the scandal was her fault. [posts]'' Maher revealed.
Tyson tried to dismiss the issue, saying, “I think this was a year ago.”
Maher refused to budge, insisting that “a year ago, women still couldn't beat men in basketball or any other sport, and it wasn't society's fault.” Is there a problem here? ”
Tyson was anxious to find an arena where women could perform better than men. “Women may actually have an advantage in long-distance swimming. Look into that.”
Maher replied, “Maybe long-distance swimming would be good.”
“I looked it up,” Tyson declared.
“Well, I'm going to sue you for being 'part of the problem,'” Maher retorted.
