Late-night show host Bill Maher drew immediate criticism Friday night for using a racial epithet during an interview with U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, the New York Times reported.
Maher issued an apology Saturday afternoon.
On his “Real Time” program on HBO, Maher and Sasse were discussing the boundaries between adolescents and maturity and how California adults still dressed up for Halloween. Sasse commented that adults did not do that in his state, and Maher said “I’ve got to get to Nebraska more.”
“You’re welcome,” Sasse said. “We’d love to have you work in the fields with us.”
“Work in the fields? Senator, I’m a house [N-word]” Maher said. “No, it’s a joke.”
Some audience members were heard to groan while others clapped, the Times reported. The epithet was not bleeped out when the episode was rebroadcast at midnight.
HBO responded Saturday morning to the controversy, saying in a statement that the remarks were unacceptable.
On social media, Mr. Maher’s remarks were criticized.
DeRay Mckesson, activist for the Black Lives Matter movement, wrote on his Twitter account: "But really, @BillMaher has got to go. There are no explanations that make this acceptable."
Other tweets took Sasse to task for not immediately taking issue with Maher’s comment, the Times reported. Sasse responded in a series of tweets Saturday morning.
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