HBO's Bill Maher talks to comedian Seth MacFarlane, who once hosted the Oscars, about political correctness, Donald Trump and the current outrage directed at the Academy Awards for having no black nominees in the major categories. MacFarlane addresses words that get an "instantaneous knee-jerk reaction." Maher observed you used to have to make a racist joke to be racist, "now you just say something that has to do with race and people hiss."



On Friday's broadcast of HBO's Real Time, host Bill Maher had an interesting theory as to why Hollywood, "the biggest liberals in this town," gives leading roles to white males -- to placate the Asian audience. Maher was warned by his guests that he would receive blowback on this thought. And they were right, his commentary is already being dubbed "Maher 'whitesplains' Hollywood's diversity problem."



After giving their thoughts on the near all-white Oscars and Hollywood liberal culture, Maher and MacFarlane agreed that Trump is a result of "a backlash to political correctness."





MAHER: I don't get the fact that Hollywood is so liberal that someone was just hissing there of a joke that was supportive of black people, just because we mentioned black. See, it's not about -- it's just because you mentioned race. It used to be you had to make a racist joke. Now you just say something that has to do with race and people hiss...



The Oscars. The biggest liberals in this town are picking the Oscars. People who said, Academy members who said they did not see 12 Years A Slave still voted for it because they just knew it was the best picture, or should be. Why is there this problem?



SETH MacFARLANE: You would have to conduct an in-depth investigation. Is it a problem with the Academy? Is it is a problem that people aren't seeing the movies and saying, 'Oh, I know this person, and I know that film. Oh, this guy is white, too.' Is it it conscious; is it subconscious? Is it a problem with history at large where there is not enough diversity? Which is a criticism often leveled at Hollywood. Everything is speculation. I don't know.



MAHER: Part of it is, and this is the dirty little secret, is that most movies are made now in the eyes of a foreign market. And Asians really are racist.



ALAN GRAYSON: You just called them racist, which makes you racist.



LIZ MAIR: You're going to stoke a ton of outrage now.



MAHER: I'm just honest. They are. They don't want to see black people, generally, in their movies. And Hollywood executives are like, 'we're not racist, we just have to pretend we're racists because we're capitalists.' We want to sell our movie in China, so they don't like Kevin Hart.



MacFARLANE: It's tricky because it's a liberal town but it's still a business...



MAHER: Let's talk a little politics. I know that you feel the same way that I do, that Donald Trump is largely a result of a backlash to political correctness.