Comedian Bill Maher has apologized for calling himself a “house n***er” on his HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher.” But that apology many not be enough to quell the liberal voices calling for his ouster.
In a statement, Maher said, “I regret saying it and am very sorry.”
Many liberal groups have been calling for HBO to fire Maher over the comment.
ThinkProgress, the blog associated with the liberal activist group Center for American Progress, posted a piece Saturday entitled, “Bill Maher has been a public racist for a long time. Here are the receipts,” in which they list questionable racial jokes Maher has made over his career. The piece claimed Maher is “deeply Islamophobic.”
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Maher has long been the subject of ire from the left because of his stance against radical Islam. On many other issues he is a down-the-line progressive, but he has continually been a critic of the political left for denying the reality of the threat from Islamic terrorists.
Reza Aslan, a frequent TV commentator and Muslim scholar, tweeted:
I can't believe Bill Maher said something racist, said no Muslim ever. #realtime
— Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) June 3, 2017
Islam, of course, is a religion and not a race.
Race activist Deray McKessen doesn’t care what Maher has to say, he thinks HBO needs to fire him:
But really, @BillMaher has got to go. There are no explanations that make this acceptable. pic.twitter.com/K5XlEjekQ9
— deray (@deray) June 3, 2017
Liberal website the root also said that Maher “has to go.”
For its part, HBO released a statement condemning the joke and saying it would be edited out of rebroadcasts of the show. “Bill Maher’s comment last night was completely inexcusable and tasteless. We are removing his deeply offensive comment from any subsequent airings of the show,” the statement read.
Maher’s statement reads, “Friday nights are always my worst night sleep because I’m reflecting on the things I should or shouldn’t have said on my live show. Last night was a particularly long night as I regret the word are used in the banter of a live moment. The word was offensive and I regret saying it and I’m very sorry.”
Not everyone on the left was so upset with Maher. CNN commentator Bakari Sellers took the opportunity to take a swipe at the Attorney General:
I have a bigger problem with Jeff Sessions than Bill Maher.
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) June 3, 2017
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