Bill Maher added another entry to the list of his wildly racist television comments. Maher made a reference to Popeyes chicken during a talk with Congressman Will Hurd, the congressional Republican who represents a district on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The remark came during a heated discussion of why Hurd, who is African-American and a former employee of the CIA, would want to be in the Republican Party.
"I’m just asking why you’re a Republican?” Maher said. “Because they’re not good at the debt, that was their big thing. You said limited government, they don’t do that. They took over the Congress in 2011 and they raised the debt a trillion dollars a year. They’re not good at national defense—the president’s a traitor. What’s in it for you? What is in the Republican Party for you? You were in the CIA.”
Hurd went on to paint a picture of his CIA service but was cut off by Maher ready to shove his foot in his own mouth.
“I was in the CIA for almost a decade. I was the dude in the back alleys at four o’clock in the morning collecting intelligence on threats to the homeland,” Hurd said.
“That’s where you’d collect it, huh? Wow,” Maher responded. “By the Popeyes chicken?” The exchange starts at the 4:10-mark above.
It's not the first time that Maher's show has sparked outrage around the subject of race. In 2017, he landed in hot water when he referred to himself as a "house n****r" in an interview with Congressman Ben Sasse. That particular offense led to an apology from Maher.
“Friday nights are always my worst nights of sleep because I’m up reflecting on the things I should or shouldn't have said on my live show,” he wrote at the time. “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 I’m very sorry.”
It remains to be seen if Maher will apologize for this most-recent gaffe.
