Saturday, May 23, 2026

Bill Maher Books Three Black Guests Including Ice Cube for This Friday to Confront N Word Scandal

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Bill Maher isn’t fooling around. His line up this Friday will take head on his scandal over using the “N” word last week. His main guests are Ice Cube and noted commentator Michael Dyson. Symone Sanders will be a roundtable guest.

That’s three of his four guests who are black, and it’s for a reason. Maher is at center of a scandal from last week’s show when he said the “N” word. Now he’s got critics calling for his ouster and guests like Senator Al Franken pulling out of the show. Maher is obviously going to confront his demon for better or worse.

Maher did apologize for saying what he did, the next day: “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. The word was offensive and I regret saying it and am very sorry.”

Still, it’s a tough time for comedians and commentators on all sides as everything that’s said is looked at under a microscope.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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