Bill Maher and Jon Cryer clash during an awkward podcast moment

Bill Maher clashed with actor Jon Cryer when the two had a spirited debate about transgender people during an episode of the comedian’s podcast.

Former Two and a half men Star Cryer made an appearance on the January 5th episode of Club Random with Bill Maherwhere he spoke to the titular presenter about a range of topics, including gender-equitable care for young people.

While Maher spoke out against children undergoing gender-affirming care, he also questioned the increasing number of young people who identify as transgender.

Cryer countered by pointing out that the greater acceptance of certain identities and attributes in society affects the number of people who identify as such, citing the former vilification of left-handers as an example.

Newsweek has emailed representatives for Maher and Cryer for comment.

“I think there are cases where it is appropriate,” Maher said of gender-affirming care. “I think that’s the Liberals’ default position. And then there are the people who won’t admit that some of this is a social contagion and some of it is just a TikTok trend that got out of control.”

When Cryer said he disagreed, he said, “Trust me, in this town you’re going to be the big champion – ‘You owned Bill Maher’ – because they just want to agree with you.”

“The people in this city just want to be warriors, social justice warriors,” Maher added, referring to Hollywood. “They’re just always looking for a reason, and it’s much more often about themselves than the reason itself – not that things aren’t about (sincerity).”

Referring to Dave Chappelle, who has faced backlash over his own comments about transgender people in recent years, Maher continued: “What bothers Dave Chappelle so much about the transgender thing, I think, is the fact that they want to make something social out of it.” Just a problem of their generation, and it just can’t be compared to others.

“It is important. It’s a problem. I think it’s great that we live in a time where trans people can be respected and protected, but too often they demand, to paraphrase, that there is someone who is born.” A default for people – men and women . Well, a real conservative would say, “No, that’s everyone.” I would never say that. I believe there is a default setting.

Of the experiences of families with trans children, Cryer told Maher, “The people who go through this don’t say, ‘This is the life I want.’ No parent wants to be in the middle of these decisions.

“Some kids these days just want to be trans,” Maher interjected. “It’s cool… It’s a thing.”

“I disagree,” Cryer said, prompting Maher to ask, “Why is it so much more common here than in Indiana?” Are they suppressing it there?”

“It’s like left-handedism,” Cryer replied. “Being left-handed has been suppressed among humans for thousands of years. But…apparently scientists in the ’30s basically said…left-handedness doesn’t actually do any harm. Left-handedness skyrocketed. People simply stopped training to be right-handed.

As the debate heated up, Cryer criticized Republicans who he said had spent “hundreds of millions of dollars demonizing trans people,” calling it “fucking disgusting.”

“Okay, that’s politics, darling,” Maher quipped, prompting Cryer to reply back: “No, it’s not.”

Mater said, “Sorry, you’re giving them an opening like…”

“An opening where people deserve respect, yes, that is the opening,” Cryer interjected.

“Oh God, deprogrammer, please come in soon,” Maher said, to which Cryer said, “Can we get the deprogrammer? I want to deprogram you.”

Maher said, “Well, you’re doing a bad thing…”

“This is what you do for a living,” Cryer joked with a laugh.

Gender-affirming care has become a contentious political issue as more than half of the states in the U.S. have passed laws and policies restricting young people’s access.

Republicans have long proclaimed that bans on gender-affirming care would protect children from making lifelong harmful choices before they are able to decide whether they want to fully transition. Advocates for gender-affirming care say preventing access to these services can lead to long-term suffering and mental health problems for children and teens who cannot live in a body that feels like their own.

A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey released in October 2024 found that in 2023, 3.3 percent of US high school students identified as transgender and 2.2 percent identified as transgender.

A study published in June by researchers at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health found that gender-affirming surgeries are rare among minors.

Using data from 2019, the study found that gender-affirming surgeries were not performed on transgender youth under the age of 12. The rate was 2.1 per 100,000 among teenagers ages 15 to 17 and 5.3 per 100,000 among adults ages 18 and older.

Most gender-affirming treatments for adolescents are non-surgical and may include counseling, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers. According to the Mayo Clinic, puberty blockers “do not cause permanent physical changes. Instead, they interrupt puberty.” If a person stops taking the blockers, “puberty begins again.”