Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher railed against former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr.Anthony Fauci just days after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times during a Senate hearing over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.During Friday’s episode of HBO’s "Real Time," Maher called out Fauci for telling "actual lies" about the origins of the virus responsible for over seven million confirmed deaths worldwide following Fauci’s Senate hearing on Wednesday."He was caught in actual lies," Maher said, adding, "The big issue to me is the origin of this, which is very important.
How did it start?"TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FAUCI'S HEARING: PAUL BOOTS LAWYER, MORENO ERUPTS AS CONTEMPT VOTE LOOMSComedian and television host Bill Maher arrived for the 27th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor gala at the John F.Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on June 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
(Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)The comedian pointed to Fauci’s previous assertions that the virus originated through animal-to-human contact at a wet market in Wuhan, China."He was telling people up front when it first began [that] it was from the wet markets.It could not — that's a conspiracy theory — if you say it escaped from the lab," Maher said."And he knew better," Maher continued.
"Because we have him in his diary telling us what he was saying to other scientists, who were saying, ‘No, absolutely.’"Fox News Digital reached out to Fauci for comment.SLACK MESSAGES RELEASED BY RAND PAUL APPEAR TO SHOW AUTHORS OF KEY COVID-19 ORIGIN PAPER HELD PRIVATE DOUBTSFormer NIH Director Anthony Fauci listens during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on July 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C.Fauci declined to answer questions, asserting his Fifth Amendment right.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)Maher went on to point to the controversial theory that the virus was the result of either...