During a live taping of his HBO show Real Time, Bill Maher attempted to make a joke in which he referred to himself as a “house n****r,” understandably causing outrage across social media. You can see the video of the interaction below. WARNING: The video below contains graphic language.
But really, @BillMaher has got to go. There are no explanations that make this acceptable. pic.twitter.com/K5XlEjekQ9
— deray mckesson (@deray) June 3, 2017
While Maher was interviewing Republican Senator Ben Sasse, the Senator invited Maher to visit his home state of Nebraska, joking, “We’d love to have you work in the fields with us.”
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The TV host retorted, “Work in the fields? Senator, I’m a house n****r.”
The comment immediately yielding groans and sighs from the audience, despite Maher receiving a few scattered laughs, causing Maher to thank those members of the audience.
Sasse was clearly uncomfortable with the comment, causing Maher to clarify, “No, it’s a joke.”
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The backlash against Maher was immediate and widespread, with many viewers outraged at Maher’s comments for a variety of reasons. The mere fact that he used the n-word wasn’t the entire reason people were offended, but it was also the context, in which he referenced slavery and how slaves were either assigned to work in a house or in a field, depending on their physical qualities.
Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson chastised Maher on Twitter, saying, “But really, @billmaher has got to go. There are no explanations that make this acceptable.”
Journalist Jamelle Bouie clearly wasn’t surprised that Maher would act this way on live TV, but was “surprised it took this long” for the host to utter the slur.
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Conservative activist Jack Posobiec echoed the sentiment, saying, “Bill Maher must be fired immediately for his racism and belittling the struggle of millions of black Americans.”
In response to Posobiec, many people noted a double standard that if a known conservative host would have made the same comment, they would have been fired immediately.
This is far from the first time Maher has been at the center of controversy. In addition to inviting disreputable and antagonistic guests onto his show, Maher lost his previous talk show, Politically Incorrect, due to comments he made in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
Maher’s remarked about the attacks, “We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly.”
Maher has yet to make an apology for his comments.
[H/T Daily Mail]
