Bill Maher calls for frats to be abolished amid Cornell 7 allegations

DAILYMAIL.COM • 7h ago

By EMMA RICHTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER 16:30 11 Oct 2026, updated 04:49 12 Oct 2026

Bill Maher stunned his audience after calling for all fraternities to be abolished in the wake of the Cornell 7 gang rape allegations.

The talk show host, who graduated from the Ivy League in 1978, called out his alma mater on his show Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday evening.

He closed the episode by addressing the alleged gang rape incident involving seven Chi Phi frat brothers accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a female student who has been identified only as Jane Doe in a recent lawsuit.

The accused, Umar Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar, have not been charged with any crimes and deny the allegations.

‘Any place that’s all male, no girls allowed, just doesn’t function without depravity. Just ask the Catholic Church. Ask the Taliban,’ the TV host said as the audience responded with a mix of gasps and applause.

‘Human nature is bad, and the best we can do is create institutions that don’t make it so easy to be worse. And a great place to start would be getting rid of “Greek life”,’ Maher said in a sarcastic tone.

Maher then listed all the negative aspects that he believes are associated with fraternities.

‘Everything that’s inherently bad about men gets worse if you put them in a fraternity. The drinking gets worse, the cruelty, the treatment of women, the tribalism, the peer pressure, one-upmanship, conformity, segregation, nepotism, bullying, elitism, and just general a**holery – boat shoes, for example – and hypocrisy,’ the comedian stated.

The political commentator specifically discussed the case that has garnered national attention and a firestorm of backlash for Cornell.

‘Fraternity mission statements love to use the word “gentlemen”; well, in this current Jane Doe case, a young woman made a bad decision – as 20-year-olds do – when she went to a frat house drunk and did ketamine, and for that, she claims to have paid a price no woman should have to pay.

‘Now, no one there knows what happened, but I do know what a gentleman is: a gentleman, gentlemen, is someone who, in that situation, doesn’t exploit the woman; he saves her. That’s a gentleman,’ Maher said as the crowd erupted in cheers and claps.

Maher’s guest, Republican North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, also applauded him.

His comments come about a month after Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against the school, the fraternity and seven Chi Phi members, among other defendants.

Ingalls, Newell, Lee, Lopes, Sarabia, Norris and Kretzschmar allegedly gang-raped the female former student at a frat party on October 19, 2024, according to the September filing.

The alleged victim has claimed that the Chi Phi fraternity members engaged in sexual acts with her while she was incapacitated and without her consent.

She also alleged that the men manipulated her into ingesting ketamine and alcohol that night, per the filing.

Jane Doe, then a 20-year-old sophomore, first reported the allegations in 2024, but after an investigation by Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, no charges were filed.

But after her recent lawsuit, the office has reopened the case, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul has tapped Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor.

Since news of the alleged incident came out, a slew of evidence has come to light, including text messages between Jane Doe and the frat brothers.

On Thursday, TMZ shared messages that allegedly show Jane Doe downplayed the alleged assault in conversations with Ingalls and Newell.

According to Jane Doe, Ingalls had invited her to the house that night before asking her if she wanted to have a threesome with Newell.

She agreed and was taken to a room where she was allegedly offered alcohol and ketamine, the lawsuit stated.

Newell then sent a message to about 50 fraternity members on Snapchat that read ‘free p****’, referring to the woman.

Other frat brothers then came into the room and allegedly sexually assaulted her while she was incapacitated, according to Jane Doe.

In the newly released texts, Jane Doe told Newell that ‘none of the sexual stuff was illegal,’ and described the incident as a ‘gangbang’ that was ‘our body our choice’ in text messages.

But her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, told the Daily Mail that his client maintains her allegations and said that the messages did not suggest that the alleged encounter was consensual.

Giuffra argued that Jane Doe was showing ‘classic symptoms of delayed recognition’ about the gravity of the incident, meaning it took some time for her to realize that she had been the victim of an alleged crime.

‘This is a well-known phenomenon which is widely reported in medical and psychological literature,’ the attorney said.

‘Most rape survivors do not immediately identify what happened to them as rape.’

Meghan appears at home in the countryside: Duchess of Sussex shows off her idyllic life in England…

Boris blasts ‘sickening’ Trump deal with Putin: Ex-PM calls on Royal Navy to intercept Russia’s…

Tiger victim ‘was on all fours, praying and bowing’ to the animal before it mauled him to death at…

As a ‘wealthy’ university friend of Prince William, Ben Duncan found TV fame and seemingly had it…

Somali serial rapist sues NHS over how prescriptions are handed out in jail during Ramadan… and…

Teenage rider devastated after car crashes into her ‘Olympic’ horse Benny who had to be put down -…

Tiger attack witness reveals victim asked her to take his picture moments before he jumped into the…

Saudi Arabia’s terrified Crown Prince MBS ‘is moving between heavily guarded palaces with bunkers as…

Labour’s new ‘£9bn’ stealth tax raid: Hated freeze on thresholds set to hammer Brits even harder as…

These subliterate fanatics threaten the richest Arab kingdom – and the economic security of all in…

Harry and Meghan’s new life as ‘private citizens’: Sussexes will make first joint public appearance…

Powerful Tropical Storm Rachel batters waterfront properties in California leaving homes crumbling…

David Cameron enjoys early morning swim with sister after weekend marking his 60th birthday…

Trump claims Russia and Ukraine have agreed ‘energy ceasefire’ – but surprised Zelensky says it’s…

Katie Price arrives at court to give evidence in trial of ex-husband Kieran Hayler who is accused of…

Notting Hill £1.2million homeowner who won two-year £10,000 planning battle with council over a…

Bill Maher calls for frats to be abolished amid Cornell 7 allegationsComments are subject to our House rules and TermsNewest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}

No one seems to have shared their thoughts on this topic yetLeave a comment so your voice will be heard first.

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{#replies.comments}}{{^isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{#isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{/replies.comments}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{^replies.totalCount}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{/isComment}}The opinions and views expressed in the comments section are solely those of the individual users and do not represent or reflect the opinions, views, or positions of MailOnline. MailOnline does not endorse, support, or verify the accuracy of any user-generated content.Terms|Privacy|FeedbackOldest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}