Bill Maher: ‘Real Time’ Host Blasted for Making Popeye’s Chicken Joke Towards Black Congressman

Bill Maher is under fire again after some say a recent segment on Real Time with racist implications.

Maher interviewed republican congressman Will Hurd on Friday night, questioning why he sticks with the GOP. Hurd described his long career in the Central Intelligence Agency, where he did some of the most high-stakes work for national security. Maher cut in with a joke that many took as a subtle racist comment.

“I was in the CIA for almost a decade,” Hurd said. “I was the dude in the back alleys till four o’clock in the morning, collecting intelligence on threats to the homeland.”

“That’s where they collect them, huh?” Maher joked. “By the Popeye’s Chicken?”

In the moment, he and Hurd seemed to laugh at the bizarre setting for a clandestine meeting. However, as the episode circulated, many felt that Maher was leaning on a racist stereotype that had no place in the interview. It received a lot of backlash on social media, where many questioned my Maher is even on TV after all of his missteps.

“At this point people have to start declining invitations to go on [Real Time with Bill Maher],” tweeted New Yorker columnist Jelani Cobb. “I’ve been on previously. No way I would again.”

“He did it again, folks. How long is [HBO] going to be cool with a guy being unabashedly racist on their network under the guise of just being outrageous?” added another person.

“If you’re a fan of Real Time w/ Bill Maher, I hope you enjoyed the series finale tonight,” someone joked.

Of course, this is not Maher’s first major controversy. The comedian and talk show host has been under fire many times before. In the summer of 2017, he was hit with a wave of outrage when he said the n-word on his show. Maher was attempting to make a joke, though it did not land, and he later apologized. So far, he has not done the same for Friday night’s episode.

Meanwhile, Maher continues to be at odds with the comic book-reading community as he doubles — or even triples — down on his insults against Stan Lee. In the last several months since Lee’s death, the comedian has repeatedly said that Lee’s legacy is one of lowering the bar for intellect in American culture.

“I’m not saying we’ve necessarily gotten stupider,” he wrote on his blog at the time. “The problem is, we’re using our smarts on stupid stuff.”

“I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to suggest that Donald Trump could only get elected in a country that thinks comic books are important,” he added.