While I am shocked and appalled at Bill Maher's recent behavior, he has showcased his racism and other discriminatory qualities before. Not only has he referred to women as bitches, joked about domestic abuse, made fun of trans people with the walking trashcan that is Milo Yiannopoulos, but he also thinks that his past dating history absolves him of any potential racism because he has dated a few black women in his lifetime. It is for these reasons, and many more, that I have never been that comfortable watching Real Time with Bill Maher. He normalizes discriminatory speech by saying something provocative and then clarifying that it's "just a joke" and amuses his guests by letting them do the same, i.e. Milo. However, his recent use of a racial slur within the context of a slavery joke was perhaps a new and untapped level of his soft-core bigotry.
For those unfamiliar, the context of the '"joke" was this:
Senator Ben Sasse from the state of Nebraska was a guest on the show and had just invited Bill to come visit the Senator's state sometime, adding that Bill could come help them work in the fields sometime, since Nebraska is a rather rural state, to which Maher replied, "Work in the fields? Senator, I'm a house ******"
In no way is it ever okay for a white person to use a racial slur, especially on HBO and in the context of a "joke" about slavery. This is not joke. Not only does it make a mockery of the struggle of slavery, but it was also absolutely unnecessary. All Maher had to say was, "Thank you, Senator. Maybe I will" or something to that effect. Yes, he is a comedian, but if he has to rely on racism and racial slurs just to crack a joke, he's not a very good one.