Anne-Marie Johnson knows all too well about Bill Maher using the n-word, and after his failed joke last week, a video featuring her appearance on his old show went viral. Johnson is now speaking out about her own experience with Maher’s use of the word and offered the comedian some timely advice.
In an interview with TMZ, Johnson said she’s not shocked about Maher’s use of the racial slur.
“I wasn’t surprised that he used the word, since I’m accustomed to his comfort. The fact that he doesn’t understand the history of the word, and his comfort with saying it once again, just brought me back to when I was on the show many, many years ago,” Johnson stated.
The actress says she doesn’t know Maher personally, but she doesn’t think he’s a racist, and that he’s probably shocked that people took offense and his feelings are hurt.
“Just stop,” Johnson said. “Take a hiatus from using those words and be a little more clever. Find other ways to express yourself. Give it a rest for about a year.”
Johnson went on to say that Maher isn’t likely to experience any big blowback when it comes to his show, and that the controversy hasn’t hurt him.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens on his show Friday night when Ice Cube appears as a guest to discuss last week’s episode. But just as Johnson said, there are no repercussions for his use of the word. When it comes to Maher, it seems as though he’s like Teflon in the eyes of HBO.