• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Bill Maher apologizes for N-word. HBO/Sasse also comment

finowns

Member
Because if you did watch it, you'd know that he addressed that very point.

He brought up his homophobic slurs and his many others? I watched the 3 minute video I assume he brought it up later in the show? Still wouldn't really change anything about what I said though.
 

Shy

Member
He brought up his homophobic slurs and his many others? I watched the 3 minute video I assume he brought it up later in the show? Still wouldn't really change anything about what I said though.
It would, because this thread (and his appearance) is about Maher said.

Which he addressed in the second half of the full length segment.

Which is the reason i replied to you.
 
Honestly, Bill Mahers MRA, anti PC attitude, obviously rationalizes the use of the n word. He believes in racial profiling. He is best friends with people who despise black people, who call them apes. Milo and Ann Coulter. He loves them both. He seems to like Le Penn, and encourages people to keep an open mind to people like Le Penn and Milo who openly hate black people.

It just seems off that as long as Bill Maher doesn't say the n word the people won't turn on him. Bill Maher is a racist. Absolutely. His mainstreaming of a dangerous racist like Milo should be 10 times more offensive than the way he used the n word. Maher has said many things about arabs that are far more offensive than using the n word, imo.

I don't think Maher is actually sorry. I think he is sorry he got in trouble. If there wasn't a backlash, no way in hell he even addresses it. He could've apologized during last weeks show, but it took a week of intense criticism and calls for him to be fired, for him to realize what he had done.
 

Veal

Member
That low key burn from ice cube about white guys who think they're down cause they've had a black chick make em kool aid before had Bill ether's for sec bahaha! Some people in the audience definitely felt those shots!
 

SeeThree

Member
Nothing more smug than a bunch of rich people sitting around a table giving each other pats on the back as they rail against other rich guys.

Interesting take. Rich railing on rich no doubt. Personally I liked it and am glad it was allowed to air last night.
 

BriGuy

Member
I haven't watched the Ice Cube part but it must be a bit hypocritical for him to criticize someone over using a slur.
Not really, and Ice Cube does a good job of laying out why. That said, if you do think a double standard is at play, then consider this. Double standards exist; they're just a fact of life. But white folk benefit from a hell of a lot more of these double standards than we're "disadvantaged" by them. Being able to say the N-word is one box we don't need to check.
 

Oni Jazar

Member
I think the latest episode was great. It's not about black people yelling at Bill, it's about black people telling Bill and THE VIEWERS that this shit is wrong and why. Like Ice said, this is an educational moment. Everyone watching should understand what's going on and what it really means to blacks when a white person throws the n word. I thought it was a great opportunity for dialogue in america which is a better outcome then just a straight fire and dismissal.

I get that as a comic you have to think fast and sometimes think edgy for a joke. I also get that his actions reveal a sense of comfort that's disgusting in a person which, for whatever the intent, is wrong and should get no pass. This episode was a positive IMO for people to understand it all. I will say that Bill cutting Cube and saying "I think the people watching now are saying that point has been made" was fucked up. If you need to move on fine but cmon man that's insensitive. I saw real emotion with Cube's speech. Very heartfelt.
 

Gattsu25

Banned
Then he went on to say, except for when you're rapping along at one of his shows.

Why is it cool in that situation?

There's basically this concept of a social contract.

You are able to end a conversation by saying "I love you mom" or "I love you dad" to your parents because there is a social contract between you that this is an acceptable way to end a conversation. However, this doesn't work when you are talking to your boss or someone that you just met and for some reason everyone is able to understand this but some people (talking generally here) find it hard to understand that about racially charged words 🤔

You are able to call your significant other "honey" for the same reason: because you mutually agreed that this was acceptable. However, this doesn't give you the ability to call anyone else of your partner's gender "honey" without A) you coming off as condescending or sexist and B) you sounding creepy as hell.

Ice Cube is giving specific parameters within which you shouldn't feel ashamed when saying that word. That's his right to give and you will still be getting massive sideeye if you ever decide to use that word around other black people who don't have that social agreement or contract between you and them.

Me? I'd prefer that no exception get made for that word because if that word is a ready part of your vocabulary then it might slip out when when you are speaking off-the-cuff and give an impression of you that is negative. Keep that word out your mouth.
 

LordKasual

Banned
There's basically this concept of a social contract.

You are able to end a conversation by saying "I love you mom" or "I love you dad" to your parents because there is a social contract between you that this is an acceptable way to end a conversation. However, this doesn't work when you are talking to your boss or someone that you just met and for some reason everyone is able to understand this but some people (talking generally here) find it hard to understand that about racially charged words 🤔

You are able to call your significant other "honey" for the same reason: because you mutually agreed that this was acceptable. However, this doesn't give you the ability to call anyone else of your partner's gender "honey" without A) you coming off as condescending or sexist and B) you sounding creepy as hell.

Ice Cube is giving specific parameters within which you shouldn't feel ashamed when saying that word. That's his right to give and you will still be getting massive sideeye if you ever decide to use that word around other black people who don't have that social agreement or contract between you and them.

Me? I'd prefer that no exception get made for that word because if that word is a ready part of your vocabulary then it might slip out when when you are speaking off-the-cuff and give an impression of you that is negative. Keep that word out your mouth.

there's nothing complicated about this concept and literally everyone is familiar with it

people just willingly forget when it comes to the N word cuz they reaaaaaaaaaalllly wanna say it
 
Bill goes on about the comedian aspect of the whole situation... but when you look at the joke Bill made, from a comedian aspect, its usage makes no sense. You could tell the best joke in the history of the world, but if you attach the N-word to it then it instantly becomes unfunny and, at best, makes the audience uncomfortable and not in a good way. Why would you ruin a joke with that word?
 

Gattsu25

Banned
Bill goes on about the comedian aspect of the whole situation... but when you look at the joke Bill made, from a comedian aspect, its usage makes no sense. You could tell the best joke in the history of the world, but if you attach the N-word to it then it instantly becomes unfunny and, at best, makes the audience uncomfortable and not in a good way. Why would you ruin a joke with that word?

Good point. Another point: it was a hack joke that any non-comedian could have thought up within the exact same amount of time. It was lazy and uncreative on top of being questionable.
 

SummitAve

Banned
Bill goes on about the comedian aspect of the whole situation... but when you look at the joke Bill made, from a comedian aspect, its usage makes no sense. You could tell the best joke in the history of the world, but if you attach the N-word to it then it instantly becomes unfunny and, at best, makes the audience uncomfortable and not in a good way. Why would you ruin a joke with that word?

I disagree. There are pillars of comedy that do have that aspect. Whether you like it or not, comedy has a long history with its usage.
 

Arkeband

Banned
I thought Bill handled this whole thing so well.
He had an honest and humane conversation.
Props to him.

I was 50/50 on his apology. He started off with a tongue in cheek "I've had a bad week" kind of thing which was not him seriously playing a victim, but still. He then seemed genuinely apologetic and had on a guest who would give him a righteous dressing down for it and he was fairly gracious. But he did clumsily try to justify it with the comedian excuse, which while clearly was the origination of the joke, wasn't really the point. Everyone knew what he was going for, the problem is that he went for it. So the justifications seemed unnecessary and defensive. I understand why he felt the need to have some defense, but the stronger that is, the more he threatens to undermine the apology.

I was carefully watching his body language and listening for rebuttals when Ice Cube came out, but with the exception of when he was called a redneck, he sat quietly and listened, which is what he needed to do.

We'll see how he is going forward and if his guests words got through to him. They reminded him of his responsibility not just to watch his rhetoric but to remember who he represents. He's not 'just' a comedian.
 
thought this was a good episode, only because of what the guests were saying. it is clear Maher doesn't think he did anything wrong. his defenses (he didn't know what he was saying, he's "a trained monkey", it's just comedy, he is from an older generation, he is from New Jersey in the 50s/60s "When racism wasn't a thing" (RMDE)) are the same exact excuses he is constantly giving other people shit for.

he wants to have a political show but he also wants a comedy show, so that whenever he gets called out he can say "it's just comedy!" and avoid criticism. he simultaneously trumpets himself as "inventing" the idea that "Racism denial is the new racism" yet thinks this does not apply to him. yes you didn't think anything was wrong w it -- this is how racism works!

biggest bombshells were the talks with Ice Cube, calling him out for repeatedly making black jokes, saying that "Sometimes you sound like a redneck trucker". of course Bill denies this, says it was a one-time thing, tries to shut Cube down a few times.

ultimately Bill Maher is useful as a facilitator, for getting these black voices on tv, for giving them this big platform. so for that i think it's useful and a good thing. as a person himself though he's full of shit.
 

Toparaman

Banned
Ice Cube was on the show to promote the re-release of the album containing those songs.
It's worth noting there aren't any actual slurs on Black Korea, though it is absolutely a racist song.

Cube's prolific use of bitch to this day is probably a better parallel to what Maher did.
 

Got

Banned
despite being a low hanging joke, I think hes sincere in his apology.

if he was sincere then he wouldn't have constantly tried to dismiss the guests concerns about his usage of the word. he also suffers from the apology syndrome of interjecting that "yes he was wrong, but..." The asshole can't figure out that you stop there and don't say but. He wasn't sincere. He was sorry that it caused him trouble. Not that he said it.
 
Saw the episode, probably slightly better than most Maher episodes although the deflection by Maher was jedi level. Eric Dyson though was pretty terrible, he seemed more interested in plugging his new book than talking about anything. Ice Cube was great and I think his simple message of "this word has been used as a weapon against us for hundreds of years, and we aren't going to ever allow that again" eloquently spoke as to why white people can't ever use it.

Still a pretty boring and typical episode overall, everyone just talking over each other and yet another 45 minutes of "Trump is dumb". I wish these shows would explore more secondary topics and issues like the hollowing out of the rust belt, the opiod issues, tracking and following younger democratic potential leaders like Kamala Harris / Booker / Duckworth / etc, how the weed initiatives passed last year have fared, and other topics other than "here's what Trump did this week, can you believe it?"
 
he is sorry he got caught. he is sorry he said a harmful word. for these things he really did apologize.

but a good point the guests made is that what he said was bad not just because of the word, but because of the underlying assumption that it brings, that "house n******" somehow had it good, that he threw what were traditionally black women who were often raped and impregnated by their masters under the bus, minimizing that struggle, in the name of a joke.

the idea that "some had it good" also came up a lot this week for liberals defending Hillary Clinton's house servants. it is a racist idea. it makes light of slavery. it diminishes the struggle of those who may have suffered the most during that time.

these people get a pass because they are "fighting the good fight" but imo you want to know why we live in a Trump America it's because this is what even some of the "good guys" think.
 

Mesousa

Banned
It's worth noting there aren't any actual slurs on Black Korea, though it is absolutely a racist song.

Cube's prolific use of bitch to this day is probably a better parallel to what Maher did.

"Everytime I want to go get a fuckin brew
I gotta go down to the store with the two
oriental one-penny countin motherfuckers
"


Calling an Asian person oriental, like they are an object, is most certainly a slur to East Asians in America.
 
Those who aren't accepting his apology, what else do you want him to do?

i accept his apology, i just take it with the same grain of salt i am taking the statement he is apologizing for. it's something he said in service of his career with no thought for others, that's all.

imo he should put his money where his mouth his. multiple times he talks about inventing the idea that "racism denial is the new racism". and then he spends the entire episode doing exactly that. while surrounded by black people telling him he fucked up!

yet he stands by the fiction that this is a "one time thing" and a "slip up". he has told many racist, sexist, islamaphobic jokes over the years, and he is denying all of that. he is denying that this is who he is. he makes a huge stink of pointing out how bad other people are but is unable or unwilling to put the lens on himself. he has given himself a free pass. the hypocrisy of this guy is staggering.
 
Saw the episode, probably slightly better than most Maher episodes although the deflection by Maher was jedi level. Eric Dyson though was pretty terrible, he seemed more interested in plugging his new book than talking about anything. Ice Cube was great and I think his simple message of "this word has been used as a weapon against us for hundreds of years, and we aren't going to ever allow that again" eloquently spoke as to why white people can't ever use it.

Still a pretty boring and typical episode overall, everyone just talking over each other and yet another 45 minutes of "Trump is dumb". I wish these shows would explore more secondary topics and issues like the hollowing out of the rust belt, the opiod issues, tracking and following younger democratic potential leaders like Kamala Harris / Booker / Duckworth / etc, how the weed initiatives passed last year have fared, and other topics other than "here's what Trump did this week, can you believe it?"

Eric Dyson mentioned his book maybe twice, almost no one talked over each other, obviously the discussion was going to be driven by the Comey testimony yesterday but the segue into the racial discussion took up way more time, and Ice Cube basically said the same thing as Dyson just in a blunter way.

I mean, you obviously don't like the show, but that's a pretty incredible misrepresentation of what actually happened in this episode
 
Has Ice Cube ever talked about Cave Bitch and Black Korea in this context?
The systematic locking out of African Americans when it comes to business loans is a million times more vulgar than Black Korea. 2017 and I'm in the hood with no black store ownership.

I can't defend Cave Bitch though. The sisters can get elevated without the brothers putting down white women.
 

Cyframe

Member
I liked watching this episode because Bill was not having a good time and even fought back against the critique that he isn't similar to racist whites. On quite a few occasions Bill Maher has spun anti-black jokes, he ended his interview with Milo with one and used the n word while talking about Trayvon Martin and Zimmerman. That's the type of behavior Ice Cube was talking about even before this. He somehow thinks he's better than and on a different podium than racist white people. I heard the same racist jokes Bill made from kids I went to school with, no difference.

I'm not going to give him credit for sitting through this dialouge but I hope it served as a lesson for his white viewers who have gotten a little too familiar and think they have a pass to use the n word.
 

isamu

OMFG HOLY MOTHER OF MARY IN HEAVEN I CANT BELIEVE IT WTF WHERE ARE MY SEDATIVES AAAAHHH
Ice Cube spittin' dat knowledge. Brought me back to the days of younger, angrier Cube.
 
Saw the episode, probably slightly better than most Maher episodes although the deflection by Maher was jedi level. Eric Dyson though was pretty terrible, he seemed more interested in plugging his new book than talking about anything. Ice Cube was great and I think his simple message of "this word has been used as a weapon against us for hundreds of years, and we aren't going to ever allow that again" eloquently spoke as to why white people can't ever use it.

Still a pretty boring and typical episode overall, everyone just talking over each other and yet another 45 minutes of "Trump is dumb". I wish these shows would explore more secondary topics and issues like the hollowing out of the rust belt, the opiod issues, tracking and following younger democratic potential leaders like Kamala Harris / Booker / Duckworth / etc, how the weed initiatives passed last year have fared, and other topics other than "here's what Trump did this week, can you believe it?"

Isn't that sort of what Last Week Tonight is trying to do? 10 minutes of Trump, 15 minutes of a secondary subject, and a closing bit?
 

celljean89

Neo Member
Those who aren't accepting his apology, what else do you want him to do?

He can't do nothing in my opinion, Bill already has a history of saying unfunny racial jokes and being a Islamophoba. I usually watch his show every friday, but after that House Nigger joke and being a black man. I can't forgive him, I can't watch his show no more, and I don't believe he's sorry.
 
That Ice Cube segment really encapsulated how i felt. I also hate that Bill kept slyly trying to interject. Just shut up and let him make his point

I would also accept his apology because he did at least address it and not try and hide from it completely.
 
Speaking of LWT, I know you can't avoid Trump but we get enough of him elsewhere. I hate how him and his antics have nearly taken over the show.
 
Why do people keep saying he's sorry he got caught? He said it on live TV. It's not like he said it in the parking lot after the show.
 

Got

Banned
Why do people keep saying he's sorry he got caught? He said it on live TV. It's not like he said it in the parking lot after the show.

he's sorry that he got flack for it and that it's causing him trouble. saying he's sorry that he got caught is just another way to express that. simple enough really.
 
Top Bottom