Al Franken is having a rough month. First he was forced to cancel an upcoming appearance with Kathy Griffin over her offensive Trump photo. Now he has cancelled an upcoming appearance on the Bill Maher show due to Maher’s recent controversy.
The Hiffington Post reports:
Senator Al Franken Cancels Bill Maher Appearance Amid Controversy
A spokesperson for Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) confirmed to HuffPost that the senator is canceling his appearance on the upcoming episode of “Real Time” in the wake of host Bill Maher’s use of a racial slur on-air.
“Senator Franken believes that what Bill Maher said was inappropriate and offensive, which is why he made the decision not to appear on the next episode of ‘Real Time,’” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “He was glad to see Bill, who the Senator considers to be a good friend, apologize and express sincere regret for his comment.”
Last Friday, Maher joked that he was a “house n****r” while in conversation with Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who invited Maher to “work in the fields” of his represented state. Maher later called his use of the term “offensive.”
The backlash was strong enough for Maher to apologize ― something he’s known for rarely doing ― and for HBO to confirm that the network currently has no plans to fire him.
Symone Sanders, an activist and former national press secretary for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, plans to attend, although she hopes to have a discourse about Maher’s use of the “n-word.”
Who will Franken have to distance himself from next?
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