As TMZ reports, HBO will not fire Bill Maher after a racial slur during the last episode of Real Time. HBO is a subscription service not tied to advertisers, which helped make the decision.
Responding to a comment from Sen, Maher jokingly said he was a “house n****r”, to which Ben Sasse said he should “work in the fields”. The audience had mixed reactions. Maher apologized later and said he regretted using the “offensive term”.
In an official statement, he said:
“Friday nights are always my worst night of sleep because I’m up reflecting on the things I should or shouldn’t have said on my live show. Last night was a particularly long night as I regret the word I used in the banter of a live moment. The word was offensive and I regret saying it and am very sorry.”