The Root opined Friday night that HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher should be canceled after concluding that Maher pronounced a racial slur in a particular manner.
After reviewing the tape, we found that Maher used the n-word with a hard ‘R’ and not an ‘A’, so he really has to go https://t.co/ketBGLZGUq pic.twitter.com/NO0AB7xLDT
— The Root (@TheRoot) June 3, 2017
Maher, during a Friday night interview with Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse about the senator’s new book, told Sasse that he had to “get out to Nebraska more” after Sasse told him adults in his state do not dress up for Halloween as often as other people in the country do.
“You’re welcome; we’d love to have you work in the fields with us,” Sasse kidded.
“Work in the fields,” Maher gasped. “Senator, I’m a house ni***r.”
“You still working in the fields out there, huh?” Maher said.
“Yeah,” Sasse said. “We want our kids to suffer.”
The Root, which focuses on racial issues, said in an update after initially quoting that Maher had pronounced the word differently: “This story previously incorrectly quoted Bill Maher as having said ‘ni**a’ when in fact he said ‘ni**er’ with a HARD ASS Rrrrrrrrrruh, so that makes this extra offensive. And before you start typing all fast in the comments on your racist burner accounts, I SAID WHAT I SAID. His show needs to be canceled.”
HBO released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter saying Maher’s remark was “completely inexcusable.”