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Bill Maher Calls His Use of The N-Word a 'Comedian's Mistake'

BadAss2961

Member
He really should shut up about this, I believe it exited the news cycle and people were starting to forget about it. Add to the fact he is currently on break, it would have served him well to just shut up and let it die.
He probably only brings it up when interviewed and asked about it.

Not much more he can do after he already apologized. Groveling won't do him any favors, and he knows that.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
He really should shut up about this, I believe it exited the news cycle and people were starting to forget about it. Add to the fact he is currently on break, it would have served him well to just shut up and let it die.

Way to remind people you fucked up super hard. Really great for your image.

lol why bring this up again?

I wish he would just shut the fuck up.


If you read between the lines of this article, this isn't a recent comment. This is just some piece being critical of Maher bringing it up.
 

L Thammy

Member
Maybe. Maybe he is genuinely sorry though.

I don't particularly like him and he's gotten worse over the years with vaxxer and other bullshit. But what if he's actually repentant?

It's a little funny, then, that it's so similar to what he said when he was explaining to his black panelist that it's okay for Sarah Silverman to use an ethnic slur in a joke.

But yeah, you can't blame him for keeping the topic alive, at least.
 
It's a little funny, then, that it's so similar to what he said when he was explaining to his black panelist that it's okay for Sarah Silverman to use an ethnic slur in a joke.

But yeah, you can't blame him for keeping the topic alive, at least.

That Sarah Silverman joke was brilliant though.
 

L Thammy

Member
Let me dig out the relevant portion from the actual interview:

PG Maybe the only middle ground now is the outrage over episodes like your recent N-word incident. Total fury! Did you think you were toast?

BM No.

PG Really? Were you not looking at Twitter?

BM I think most people understood that it was a comedian's mistake, not a racist mistake.

PG Your first guest on the follow-up apology show, Michael Eric Dyson, was pretty softball with you. But Ice Cube was righteously indignant. He wanted to hold you to account.

BM Listen, I hope we had a teachable moment about race: trying to make something good from something bad. But maybe also about how to handle something like this: apologize sincerely if you're wrong — and I was — and own it.

PG Mission accomplished, as President Bush said.

BM But we don't have to grovel, and we don't have to admit things that aren't true. When Ice Cube said something about my telling black jokes, I wasn't going to be: ”Oh, well, I made one mistake; I might as well admit mistakes I haven't made." I've never made black jokes. I've made jokes about racists. But my fan base knows that, so it never went anywhere.

PG Can you distinguish this episode from the one after 9/11, when your show on ABC was canceled? Then, you agreed with a guest who said the 9/11 hijackers weren't cowards. Frankly, willingness to blow yourself up isn't my idea of cowardice, either. It may be crazy or evil. I hope I don't get fired for this.

FL You don't work for Disney.

BM Part of the difference, as Fran says, is that I was on a network with sponsors. And when sponsors pull out, the network has no choice. But also, the 9/11 statement had meaning behind it. The recent thing was just a mistake. I should not have used that word, even reaching for a joke.

FL The worst thing about this is that there's always outrage over people in show business, who have no actual power. They're entertainers. We would prefer that they agree with us, and do the right thing. But moral outrage should be reserved for Congress or the Supreme Court. To me, the fact that people can't tell the difference between these things is why we have Donald Trump as president. People want to be entertained 24 hours a day. And they're seeking from entertainment what they should be seeking from other branches of life.

PG Have you ever had to do a public apology?

FL No. This is very specific to people who have mass audiences. Remember that whole period when Charlie Sheen was news. That's not news, O.K.? You can watch Bill; you cannot watch Bill. But you can't not have this Congress. That's the misplaced moral outrage.

PG Better to save it for Paul Ryan?

FL I'm glad you brought him up. Every time I see the sentence ”Paul Ryan is the conscience of the Republican Party," I think: What is that? Is that like being the quarterback of the New York City Ballet? But yes, that is where your outrage should be.

Didn't really look at the rest, but I did see "trigger warnings are ridiculous" in there. I think that's the interviewer though.
 

whitehawk

Banned
I mean, he's not wrong. Racial jokes are fine, but only if it's handled properly, and it's funny.

Look at how Louis CK handled using nigger in his stand up.
 
I mean, he's not wrong. Racial jokes are fine, but only if it's handled properly, and it's funny.

Look at how Louis CK handled using nigger in his stand up.

The platform was another issue. He attempted a bad joke using "nigger' as an old White man in the midst of a serious interview with another old White man politician on his Poltical talk show.

The optics of that look terrible.
 
Screw Bill Maher.
"We need to find a middle ground on race. If you look at the polling of conservatives, Republicans and Fox News watchers, they think racism is over — which is insane. Denying racism is the new racism. And on the other hand, you have that liberal white guilt, #WhiteSoLame. They think they’re making things better by beating themselves on the back like that albino assassin in 'The Da Vinci Code.'"

"BM: It’s certainly a part of it, along with the busybodyism going on in the country. Pointing your finger at other people and saying, 'You’re insufficiently liberal'. In a lot of ways, the Democratic Party went from protecting people to protecting feelings. Did you see the story about Sean Spicer, that stroke victim waiting to happen? He wasn’t on camera one day, and a reporter asked Steve Bannon about it. And Bannon said, 'Sean got fatter'. Now, I’m not a big fan of Steve Bannon, and that’s not the funniest joke I ever heard, but it was a joke. And Chelsea Clinton tweeted ——

FL: Are you making this up?

BM: No! Chelsea tweeted: I never find fat-shaming funny, ever. And I thought, 'This is why you guys lost'.

FL: No, it wasn’t.

BM: Not entirely."

Screw Fran Lebowitz.

"The worst thing about this is that there’s always outrage over people in show business, who have no actual power. They’re entertainers. We would prefer that they agree with us, and do the right thing. But moral outrage should be reserved for Congress or the Supreme Court. To me, the fact that people can’t tell the difference between these things is why we have Donald Trump as president. People want to be entertained 24 hours a day. And they’re seeking from entertainment what they should be seeking from other branches of life."
 

cr0w

Old Member
Can his smug face even be allowed to repent?
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g11

Member
That really helped Kramer.

Nowhere even near the same context either.

Either way the joke fell flat and wasn't particularly funny or original so in that regard, he should have just mentally gone "nah, let's skip that one", but I think more than actually saying the word some people assumed that he assumed he has the right to drop that bomb whenever he wants because he dates black women and smokes weed and whatever else, and it's more about putting him in his place and other comedians on notice.
 

MUnited83

For you.
Wouldn't be a Maher thread without hysterics and extreme hyperbole.

I mean even if you completely ignore his racist bullshit, he's still a fucking dumbshit antivaxxer. He is objectively hurting everyone.

How can anyone follow this dumbass and think he's a "smart liberal" is ridiculous.
 
On a show called Politically Incorrect, where he shared his Politically Incorrect opinion.

In douchey comedian speak, "politically incorrect" means "I can say whatever nasty, bigoted thing I want, and if you get offended you're a snowflake who can't handle a joke."

He can be a douchey comedian; in fact, he excels at it. But he cannot be a liberal if he insults black people, trans people, women, and even liberals themselves, whom he often calls whiny little snowflakes. Support for weed legalization, something that benefits him personally, and a few token words of support between the nasty jokes does not a liberal make.
 

Owzers

Member
Bill Maher in this clip tells a lady that he wouldn't have known she was black if she didn't tell him because she's light skinned, and that the N word is ok for white people to say because songs say it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiCEaLHZp24
starts at 9:09
I like David spade in that video so far. The constant look of "Am I gong to say something here...nahhh"

Edit: and then he talks about chris rock talking about how white men make toast.
 
I don't really understand what is hard about don't say nigger? Like everyone trying to have a hot take but all dude had to do is not go on air and make a slavery joke where he used nigger. If you cant pass that low ass bar and can't own it as "no I should have known better and for my viewers I offended I am extremely sorry" then why should anyone give a shit about his progressiveness?

Whatever progressive stuff people claim he is pushing it's insane to me that we cant even pass the "white people dont say nigger" bar. That's like 1st grade stuff.
 
What about his nail salon jokes?

The only refreshing defense of Bill Maher was the poster who finally broke down and basically said "I find him funny so I don't really care." At least that can't be mistaken for anything other than honesty.
 
In douchey comedian speak, "politically incorrect" means "I can say whatever nasty, bigoted thing I want, and if you get offended you're a snowflake who can't handle a joke."

He can be a douchey comedian; in fact, he excels at it. But he cannot be a liberal if he insults black people, trans people, women, and even liberals themselves, whom he often calls whiny little snowflakes. Support for weed legalization, something that benefits him personally, and a few token words of support between the nasty jokes does not a liberal make.

I mean he's not exempt from criticism. There are plenty of things I disagree with Bill Maher about, and then there are a lot of other things I do agree with him about.

There was plenty wrong in his opinion on Politically Incorrect, but I guess if you're going to share that opinion that's the show to do it on. LOL
 

jph139

Member
I mean, he's not wrong. Racial jokes are fine, but only if it's handled properly, and it's funny.

Look at how Louis CK handled using nigger in his stand up.

I always think of Louis CK on Opie and Anthony when this comes up.

Like... man, if you're gonna go all the way to "casual slur" use in your joke, it better be a damn funny joke. You shouldn't try to write rules of comedy in stone, but don't play with fire unless you're willing to get burned.
 

Blackage

Member
I think Kevin Hart said Bill's comedic timing for the joke was on point but it fell apart for obvious reasons heh.
 

bionic77

Member
I generally give comedians a pass because of the nature of their job.

I wouldn't call Maher a racist, but he definitely has some shitty ass views.
 

legacyzero

Banned
That really helped Kramer.

Just like Milo is a comedian.
The false equivalence in these posts are strange. Kramer' incident is LIGHT YEARS different than Maher's.

And no, Milo and Maher aren't comparable on the comedian plain. They just aren't the same kind of person
Eh, I don't especially care for Maher but that seemed pretty clearly in the mistake category.

I think some people want punishment, not repentance. They know they're not gonna get the former and they're not gonna settle for the latter, so he's irredeemable.
Exactly

What Bill did was shitty. It really was. But he owned it, he apologized the next day, he's STILL apologizing , and y'all want blood. Y'all want his career.

Let the man live in his shame and let him repent.

I mean, when has this man ever apologized for anything he's done.
 

TRios Zen

Member
Dont watch his show, but while flipping channels a while back I caught Ice Cube and Symone Sanders here and thought their rebuttal was top-notch.
 

Nerokis

Member
What a tactful way to say, "I was only joking, get over it, you pussies."

Liberal Icon

I've been iffy about Maher for a very long time, but I don't get this interpretation. He didn't dodge the word "mistake," which implies recognition that he messed up. I think his point, specifically, was that he stumbled in his role as a comedian, as opposed to being driven by some nefarious, racist impulse. He misread what he could say for the sake of a joke.
 

LordKasual

Banned
It was a comedian's mistake.

He thought he could get away with it.

That was shortsighted, there was no way in hell that he would.
 
Let the man live in his shame and let him repent.

He could have done that after any of the multiple times he's put his foot in his mouth, yet he never did, and he still thought it was okay to use the n-word as a white man in 2017.

The guy let Milo walk all over him and is still taking credit for the work that Nance and Wilmore put in to accurately make Milo look like an idiot, and you think he's capable of being ashamed of his behavior to the point where he's willing to change when he never changed before? If this were his first time being a massive shithead I would be all for giving him a chance, but it's part of a clear pattern in his behavior.

I mean, when has this man ever apologized for anything he's done.

That's not a point in his favor when you could easily say the same thing about Trump's apology for what was said in the pussy tapes.
 
He positions himself like a mouthpiece for liberal thought and says stupid shit that undermines that. He is literally giving people who are on the verge of using terms like "libtard" a go-ahead to just dive in.

Conversely, he is only preaching to the choir otherwise.

This guy is a hack. Call it hyperbole if you like, but that's what he is. He is not particularly well-informed, but he is very loud. Since he is regarded as a symbol of liberal thought, I feel like that is harmful. Him dropping the N-bomb is just a symptom of the greater disease: that he is an entitled white man who likes to preach all day yet seems to care nothing about the subjects of his preaching.

Edit: oh, banned. Damn.

Perfect example of hyperbole. He does not position himself as a mouthpiece for for Liberal Thought. If anything he's more about common sense. He's got plenty of issues against Liberals.
 

legacyzero

Banned
He could have done that after any of the multiple times he's put his foot in his mouth, yet he never did, and he still thought it was okay to use the n-word as a white man in 2017.

The guy let Milo walk all over him and is still taking credit for the work that Nance and Wilmore put in to accurately make Milo look like an idiot, and you think he's capable of being ashamed of his behavior to the point where he's willing to change when he never changed before? If this were his first time being a massive shithead I would be all for giving him a chance, but it's part of a clear pattern in his behavior.



That's not a point in his favor when you could easily say the same thing about Trump's apology for what was said in the pussy tapes.
For one- those first items should be CRITICIZED, as they have been. To me, that's how this all works. Even I criticized Maher for going easy on Milo. And I advocated for having Milo on the show for the exact purpose of showing how shitty he is. I didn't personally know how shitty Milo was until *GASP* I was exposed to him. And yeah, perhaps he should have Some credit for Wilmore working Milo. It IS his show.

As for your pussy tape comment? Again, false equivalence.
 
This is pretty much what he said on his show one week after he first said it - that he wasn't thinking, it just popped up in his head. He said he's sorry, the word is hurtful, this, that, and the other...but basically was like, "well, that's just the way my brain works."

That really helped Kramer.

Not sure it's quite the same...
 
For one- those first items should be CRITICIZED, as they have been. To me, that's how this all works. Even I criticized Maher for going easy on Milo. And I advocated for having Milo on the show for the exact purpose of showing how shitty he is. I didn't personally know how shitty Milo was until *GASP* I was exposed to him. And yeah, perhaps he should have Some credit for Wilmore working Milo. It IS his show.

As for your pussy tape comment? Again, false equivalence.

LOL no no no, you don't to give him credit for Wilmore. Wilmore did all the work... Maher just sat there. Had Wilmore not taking the initiative, Milo would have basically run unaccosted the entire show... Please remember the narrative after that episode was Maher and Milo find common ground, it was posied to be a launching pad until some Reganites dug some shit up. Maher did less than zero on this.

You don't give credit to the guy who owns the oven, you give credit to the chef.
 
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