Bill Maher has hit out at Kevin Hart's claim in the New York Times that "white power and white privilege is at an all-time high".

Hart, 41, made the claim during a 2020 interview with the New York Times while talking about police brutality.

"You’re witnessing white power and white privilege at an all-time high. For those who say they don’t understand that, or don’t see it, or are confused as to what that means, I’m going to say you’re a part of the problem," the comedian and actor told the publication.

However, during Friday night's episode of Real Time, Maher took umbrage with Hart's comments, calling them "ridiculous".

You can watch the rant below:

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During the 'New Rule' segment of the show, Maher said: "This is one of the big problems with wokeness, that what you say doesn't have to make sense or chime with the facts or ever be challenged, lest the challenge itself it conflated with racism."

Maher then addressed some of America's darkest moments when it comes to its history with racism.

"But saying white power and privilege is at an all-time high is just ridiculous," the host said. "Higher than a century ago, the year of the Tulsa Race Massacre? Higher than the years when the KKK rode unchecked and the KKK went unchallenged?

"Higher than the 1960s when the Supremes and The Willie Mays still couldn't stay in the same hotel as the white people they were working with? Higher than during slavery?"

[[imagecaption|| Credit: PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Alamy]]

Maher then bashed "liberals", accusing them of having "progress-o-phobia" that makes them "incapable of recognizing progress".

"It's like situational blindness although it means you can't see that your dorm in 2021 is better than the South before the Civil War," he added.

The 65-year-old then told liberals to "adjust your mask because it's covering your eyes".

After admitting that "racism is still unfortunately with us", Maher said: "Seeing it clearly is necessary for actually fixing problems, and clearly racism is simply no longer everywhere. It isn't in my home and it probably isn't in yours."

Maher concluded his rant by saying: "Only if you believe we've made no progress does any of that make sense."

Featured image credit: WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy

Bill Maher hits out at Kevin Hart's claim that 'white power and white privilege is at an all-time high'