Bill Maher eviscerates Barbie for 'zombie lie' that the patriarchy suppresses women and demands to know 'why we keep pushing this lie' - but Joe Rogan says 'it's just a f****** movie about dolls'

Bill Maher has condemned the blockbuster film Barbie for perpetuating a 'Zombie lie' that men wield more power and influence than women.

Maher on Tuesday said he went to the cinema 'hoping it wouldn't be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie - alas, it was all three.'

Maher explained that a 'Zombie lie' is a myth.

He said the idea of a male-dominated world was incorrect and outdated, giving the example of the Mattel board in the film being all-male, while in reality it is comprised of seven men and five women.

Of a patriarchy, Maher said: 'Yes, there was one, and remnants of it remain - but this movie is so 2000-LATE.'

Podcaster Joe Rogan gave a conflicting take, saying he failed to understand the outrage: 'It was a fun movie - fun, silly movie about dolls who come to life.'

Bill Maher who condemned the blockbuster film Barbie for perpetuating a 'Zombie lie' that men wield more power and influence than women

Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling (left) star in the box office smash about the Mattel doll

He said a scene in the film where, to distract the men, the Barbies are 'pretending to act helpless and not know how to do stuff', was outdated and silly - mentioning he went to see the film with a woman in her 30s, who said no one of her generation would act that way.

The 67-year-old comedian has time on his hands amid the writers' strike, which prompted his HBO show Real Time to go on an unplanned hiatus for all of May and June before the planned July break in filming. He is yet to return to the studio, as the strike continues.

Maher continued: 'I know, I know, 'How could I know about the patriarchy, I AM a man!'

'That argument is so old and so silly. Of course, none of us can know exactly what others go through life, but I can see the world around me, and I can read data.

'The real Mattel board is a pretty close mirror of the country, where 45% of the 449 board seats filled last year in Fortune 500 companies were women.

'Truth is, I'm not the one who's out of step - I'm living in the year we're living in.

'Barbie is fun, I enjoyed it - but it IS a #ZombieLie.'

Elon Musk replied: 'Why do they keep pushing these lies?'

But others thought Maher's critique was wrong.

Barbie and director Greta Gerwig made history this weekend, flying past over $1billion in worldwide box office gross, making the Margot Robbie film the first movie directed solely by a woman to do so. Bill Maher was unimpressed 

'Oh look. Bill Maher thinks the patriarchy is over. What a shock,' tweeted Abigail Disney, the activist and film producer, who is a great niece of Walt Disney.

Molly Jong-fast, a commentator and journalist, said: 'Yet another powerful man feels threatened by a movie about a doll. Maybe greta gerwig was on to something?'

Chris Lambert, a film critic, told Maher: 'I feel like you missed a lot of the nuance and just reacted more to some of the set-ups or moments rather than taking them as part of the overall journey to the concluding statements.'

And The Daily Beast's media reporter Justin Baragona said: 'The best part of this rant about how Barbie is pushing lies about patriarchy is Maher just casually tossing out that his date for the movie is at least 30 years younger than him.'

On Tuesday, Joe Rogan told listeners of his podcast that he did not understand 'the outrage'.

Joe Rogan said he failed to understand the 'outrage' about the Barbie film

'A lot of people are upset about the Barbie movie, and I left perplexed,' said Rogan.

'It was a fun movie - fun, silly movie about dolls who come to life.'

'But a lot of it is about the patriarchy. And it's a comedy. It's a comedy about dolls.'

He said people were 'upset that it's this, like, progressive metaphor for life that they're pushing progressive politics in this' - but he felt their anger was not warranted.

'It's a f****** doll movie!' he said.

'It's a doll movie. It's a fun movie about dolls who come to life and try to interact with the real world.'

Rogan said he was impressed by its originality.

'It was a bizarre movie, but it was a fun, silly movie. I laughed, but at the end of it I was like, 'How did people get outraged at that?'

'I know some people personally who said it's anti-men. I'm like, no, it's making fun of dorks.'