Key Points:
In 2022 talk show host Bill Maher talked about the rising representation of the LGBTQ community in USA.
His opinions sparked backlash later on and were deemed "homophobic and transphobic" by many members of the community.
During the segment, Maher joked about how the 2022 NYC Pride Parade had lacked gay representation.
WITH ANOTHER YEAR passing by like a quick breeze, we find ourselves right in the middle of 2026—June, the month of Pride. LGBTQ Pride Month has begun, a tradition that has been observed every year for decades. According to a report by Gallup, LGBTQ representation in America alone reached 9.3% in 2024, and the number has continued to rise over the decades.
The rising representation of the LGBTQ community has been further subdivided by Gallup and is based on its 2025 telephonic polls. The survey indicates that 17% of the queer community in the USA identify as gay, while 16% say they identify as lesbian and 12.1% say they are transgender.
Contrary to the current figures, which have seen a significant rise over the years, back in 2022, American television host Bill Maher aired a segment titled "Along the Pride" that was deemed "homophobic and transphobic" by many members of the community.
Maher's take on the rise in the number of people self-identifying as LGBTQ ended with the pun, "If we follow this trajectory, we would all be gay by 2060." Citing a report by The New York Times, Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, recorded the highest percentage at 23%, whereas the Silent Generation, born between 1925 and 1945, stood at 2%.
During the segment, Maher joked about how the 2022 NYC Pride Parade had lacked gay representation. The parade included four grand marshals representing both transgender and lesbian communities but failed to include any representative from the gay community. The grand marshals were Ts Madison, Chase Strangio, Punkie Johnson, and Dominique Morgan.
Maher took a dig at trans activist Strangio by clipping one of his old posts on X about Abigail Shrier's controversial book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Shrier's book focused on the rise in the number of adolescent girls being pressured to identify as transgender due to social and cultural factors. The 2020 book was heavily criticized for its narrative and was called out for disseminating misinformation.
Strangio wrote on X, "Stopping the circulation of this book is 100% a hill I will die on." Focusing on the NYC grand marshal list, Maher joked that it was missing one element: a gay man. He said, "That's where we are now—gay men are not hip enough for a Gay Pride parade."
Maher's narrative that the rise in the LGBTQ population is driven by young people following the latest trends sparked disagreement from those who held opposing views. He shared his opinion that young minds, especially children identifying with the LGBTQ community at such a young age, should be viewed through a sceptical lens. Calling them "stupid," Maher added, "But kids do have phases. Kids are fluid about everything. If they knew at age 8 what they wanted to be, the world would be filled with cowboys and princesses."
[VS]
Suggested Reading:
Subscribe to our channels on YouTube and WhatsApp
Download our app on Play Store
