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Comedian Bill Maher Apologizes After Using Racial Slur On HBO Show

June 3, 2017 / 12:49 PM EDT / CBS New York

LOS ANGELES (CBSNewYork/AP) — Bill Maher is facing criticism for his use of a racial slur during a discussion with a Republican senator on his HBO talk show Friday night.

Maher was speaking with Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska during a segment of his "Real Time with Bill Maher." Sasse joked that he would like to have Maher visit Nebraska and work in the fields, which prompted Maher to use a slur in a joke that he was a house slave.

The comedian immediately waved off audience groans.

Activists including the Rev. Al Sharpton quickly criticized Maher and it remained a top-ranked topic on Twitter on Saturday morning.

NAN wants to meet w/ HBO asap about the normalizing of the use of the N word. I know and love Bill Maher but this is unacceptable. I will
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) June 3, 2017

address this Bill Maher issue and our move on HBO at this morning's NAN Saturday Action Rally. My address is live at 10 am/et on Impact TV.
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) June 3, 2017

Sasse wrote Saturday that he wished he had immediately criticized Maher for using the term.

Am walking off a redeye from LAX.
3 reflections on @billmaher
1. I'm a 1st Amendment absolutist. Comedians get latitude to cross hard lines.
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) June 3, 2017

2. But free speech comes with a responsibility to speak up when folks use that word. Me just cringing last night wasn't good enough.
(2of4?) https://t.co/e4Bw8s8tV2
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) June 3, 2017

Maher apologized in a statement released Saturday afternoon, saying "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," Maher's statement continued. "The word was offensive and I regret saying it and am very sorry."

Al Sharpton