Bill Maher slams Nike’s ‘lie’ in Super Bowl 2025 commercial involving Caitlin Clark and other female stars

Bill Maher has skewered Nike’s recent Super Bowl commercial, claiming a ‘giant lie’ about the ‘patriarchy’ runs through the clip involving stars such as Caitlin Clark and Sha’Carri Richardson.

‘So win.’ features some of the biggest names in women’s sport including WNBA superstars Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and A’ja Wilson, Olympic sprinter Richardson, and Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles.

In the Nike clip, the narrator – musician Doechii – lists numerous doubts that these female athletes face and details their ability to defy the critics.

‘You can’t take credit, you can’t speak up, you can’t be so ambitious, you can’t break records, you can’t have any fun, you can’t make demands, you can’t be proud, you can’t keep score, you can’t stand out out,’ she says.

‘Whatever you do, you can’t win… so win.’ The clip includes footage from the athletes in action on the court or on the field or on the track. It was Nike’s first Super Bowl ad in decades and reportedly became the brand’s most-watched video in record time.

But the commercial was slammed by Maher and his panel on ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ on Friday night.

Bill Maher has skewered Nike’s recent Super Bowl commercial, claiming it features a ‘giant lie’

WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark is among the female athletes that feature in the advert

There’s this phrase I use a lot here: zombie lie,’ Maher said. ‘It means something that used to be true and it stopped being true, and then people kept saying it. I feel like this is a giant zombie lie.’

Maher, who recently destroyed the NFL’s ‘End Racism’ campaign, added: ‘When was the last time a woman was told: “You can’t do this, you can’t be confident?” Who are these imaginary mean old men of the patriarchy?’

The host added, ‘it’s not “brat” at all’ – a term now synonymous with being bold, defiant and unapologetic. Maher also used the commercial to send a message to the Democratic Party about how to treat American voters.

‘If the Democrats are ever gonna win again, they have to realize something about the American people. They’re not that savvy about politics, but they know when you’re lying,’ he continued.

‘So who on the left says to the people at Nike, whoever is applauding this: “You’re not helping.” People aren’t buying this. You’re going to lose elections in the future. You just keep doubling down on this stupid idea of always going to the oppressed and the oppressors.

‘It’s almost like you hate progress because it threatens your role as a social justice warrior. So women have to keep being the victim… who does that?’

Former Democratic Representative Tim Ryan echoed Maher’s comments, insisting ‘the world has moved beyond a lot of this stuff’.

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‘Whatever you do, you can’t win… so win,’ viewers are told in the Super Bowl commercial

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Former Democratic Representative Tim Ryan and columnist Pamela Paul also slammed the ad

Columnist Pamela Paul, meanwhile, claimed messages such as these were becoming ‘weird and defensive’

‘Most of the messages you hear are “Girl power, you go girl, girl’s code”, she said. ‘The messages encouraging young women are so ubiquitous, it begins to sound not only dishonest, but just weird and defensive.

‘Who is saying this to them? Who are they fighting against? And why does it help girls and women to think of themselves as uniquely embattled and vulnerable?’

Ryan added: ‘My kid is 10. We took him and my nephew to see an Ohio State basketball game last year.

‘We went to the women’s game to watch Caitlin Clark play. My 10-year-old wants to watch Caitlin Clark. I mean, the world has moved beyond a lot of this stuff.’