Bill Maher Defends Calling Coronavirus the ‘Chinese Virus’ – Variety

HBO’s Invoice Maher has come underneath fireplace for saying it ought to be okay to name coronavirus the “Chinese language virus.”

On Friday’s episode of “Actual Time With Invoice Maher,” the host went on a tirade about why he thinks it’s extra scientifically correct to call ailments primarily based on the place they originate.

“New rule: You may’t yell at somebody for breaking a rule you simply made up. Scientists, who’re typically fairly liberal, have been naming ailments after the locations they got here from for a really very long time. Zika is from the Zika Forest, Ebola from the Ebola River, hantavirus the Hantan River. There’s the West Nile virus and Guinea worm and Rocky Mountain noticed fever and, after all, the Spanish flu. MERS stands for Center East respiratory syndrome. It’s plastered throughout airports, and nobody blogs about it. So why ought to China get a move?” he stated.

The controversy over how folks ought to consult with COVID-19 grew when President Trump stood by calling it the “Chinese language virus” in late March. He later modified his resolution on the title after a public uproar saying it was dangerous towards Asian Individuals, who’ve skilled a rise in racist assaults because the virus’ unfold.

“Jesus f—ing Christ. Can’t we also have a pandemic with out getting offended? After they named Lyme illness after a city in Connecticut, the locals didn’t get all ticked off?” Maher added. “Significantly, it scares me that there are folks on the market who would fairly die from the virus than name it by the incorrect title. This isn’t about vilifying a tradition. That is about details.”

Maher has beforehand downplayed the devastating results of the lethal coronavirus. Final month, he made equally controversial statements on air.

“I’m sick of the virus — however not from the virus. At this level, I simply f—ing wish to get it so we don’t have to speak about it or fear about touching my face anymore,” he stated. “Individuals die. That’s what occurs in life…Y2K was going to finish the world and the fires in Kuwait had been going to finish the world and the BP oil spill was going to finish the world, and each different f—ing flu we’ve ever had. And it didn’t.”