Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya offered a very stark assessment of China’s treatment of its ethnic-Muslim Uyghur population, saying “nobody cares what’s happening to the Uyghurs” on a recent episode of his All-In podcast.

Palihapitiya’s comments come after many human rights groups have accused China of genocide for detaining up to a million people in “re-education” camps. The comments also highlight the controversy surrounding the NBA and China – a topic that has dogged the league in recent months.

Palihapitiya made the comments in a discussion about the Biden administration, when one of his co-hosts said Biden’s “strong” statement on the Uyghurs was a recent bright spot for the beleaguered administration.

Palihapitiya, who is a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors, shot back, saying, “interestingly nobody cares about it, nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, okay, you bring it up because you really care.”

When pressed on his comment by his cohosts, Palihapitiya doubled down, saying it’s “a hard truth” and that it registers as an issue “below my line.”

“Until we actually clean up our own house, the idea that we step outside of our borders with, you know, with us sort of like morally virtue signaling about somebody else’s human rights track record is deplorable,” he continued, explaining that he is more concerned with domestic issues at the moment.

The NBA, along with some of its most famous players, has come under fire for its unwillingness to confront China publicly over human rights abuses. The Boston Celtics’ Enes Kanter Freedom has made headlines as an outspoke critic of players like LeBron James, who he claims has chosen “money over morals” by not speaking out against China.

Kanter Freedom, who recently added “Freedom” to his name after becoming a U.S. citizen, for example, told Megyn Kelly in December that NBA officials begged him to remove “Free Tibet” from his sneakers.

When pushed by a cohost Jason Calacanis about the possibility of both standing up for human rights abroad and domestic issues, Palihapitiya hit back, calling that a “luxury belief.”

As the conversation continued, Calacanis explained to Palihapitiya the scope and scale of human rights abuses in China, saying, “We need to have open discussions and talk about human rights all the time” so as not to give “green lights to dictators everywhere.”

Calacanis went on to explain that a “million people are in concentration camps in China,” to which Palihapitiya expressed surprise and skepticism. Palihapitiya then pushed Calacanis on whether or not he would compare what China is doing to the Uyghurs to the Holocaust, which Calacanis said he would, as many human rights groups do.

The conversation then turned to whether or not China is a dictatorship. Palihapitiya said, “I’m not even sure that China is a dictatorship the way that you want to call it that.” He went on the clarify that “I am not going to be the armchair human rights advocate for the world because I just don’t know. I can focus on the things that I know about.”

Watch the full conversation above

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