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Bill Maher, The N-Word And What Crosses The Line In Comedy

NPR
Published June 9, 2017 at 12:24 PM EDT
This June 2, 2017 photo released by HBO shows Bill Maher, host of "Real Time with Bill Maher," in Los Angeles. HBO says academic Michael Eric Dyson will be filling this week’s guest slot after Sen. Al Franken bowed out of “Real Time with Bill Maher” in the wake of Maher’s use of a racial slur last week. (Janet Van Ham/HBO via AP)
This June 2, 2017 photo released by HBO shows Bill Maher, host of "Real Time with Bill Maher," in Los Angeles. HBO says academic Michael Eric Dyson will be filling this week’s guest slot after Sen. Al Franken bowed out of “Real Time with Bill Maher” in the wake of Maher’s use of a racial slur last week. (Janet Van Ham/HBO via AP)

What’s fair game in comedy, and what crosses the line? The latest controversy is over Bill Maher’s use of a racial slur in his interview last week with Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse on “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

Maher apologized, and HBO called the comment “inexcusable and tasteless,” but many have called for Maher to be fired.

Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks with NPR TV critic Eric Deggans (@Deggans) about Maher’s comment, and the reaction to it.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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