Bill Maher Apologizes For Using a Racial Slur on His Show: "I Regret Saying It"

During an interview on June 2 with Republican Senator Ben Sasse on Real Time With Bill Maher, comedian and late night talk show host Bill Maher referred to himself as a "n*gga" when Sasse invited him to visit his state of Nebraska and "work in the fields."

"Work in the fields?" Maher asked. "Senator, I am a house n*gga." The racial joke was followed by uncomfortable laughter from the audience and has since landed Maher in hot water over his use of the slur, including sharp criticism from Sasse himself.

The morning after the episode aired, Sasse tweeted about his reaction to Maher's "joke" and his regret that he didn't reprimand the comedian on the spot. "Me just cringing last night wasn't good enough," Sasse wrote in a series of tweets ahead.

Maher has since apologized for the comment, releasing a statement through his publicist, stating:

As expected, Maher's off-color joke also sparked major outrage across social media, with some even calling for his show to be canceled. According to a statement from Quentin Schaffer, a spokesman for HBO, the cable network will omit the racial slur moment from future airings of the episode. Schaffer also called Maher's comments "completely inexcusable and tasteless."

This isn't the first time Maher's words have landed him in the hot seat. In 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attack, Maher referred to American soldiers as "cowards" for "lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away" on his former late night talk show, Politically Incorrect. At the time, Maher was expressing disagreement with then-president George W. Bush's statements that the terrorists who attacked the US were cowards. Maher's Comedy Central show was canceled less than a year later.

Read on to see what others had to say about Maher's latest controversy ahead.