https://youtu.be/CaoegqsUNZI?t=24m33s
Kevin Hart believes there are limits to what comedians can and can’t joke about — including Bill Maher’s “bad judgment” in using the n-word.
“You can play the freedom of speech thing all you want,” Hart tells The Breakfast Club Tuesday, June 6. “You can play the ‘We’re comedians, it’s a joke’ thing all you want. Ultimately, we know what we’re saying and you know the backlash that can come from it.”
Maher landed in hot water last week when he casually told a joke that he was a “house n—–,” leading to a fierce backlash.
“I’ve seen Bill Maher come to the defense of Black people on several occasions,” Hart says. “[But, using the n-word is] a bad judgment. Granted, I don’t think Bill Maher is a racist, but that’s a bad judgment. It’s inappropriate and it’s not right.
“So, to say that and say it the way you said it, as comfortable as you said it in a joking form, you’re wrong.”
After HBO condemned the joke, Maher issued an apology.
“You know he says it around his friends,” Hart says. “It’s not something that he’s not gon’ say anymore. But for you to say it on your platform, that’s tacky.”
As many continue to slam Maher’s remarks, rapper Ice Cube still plans to make an appearance on the HBO program.
Sources told TMZ Cube wants to discuss why Maher used the racial slur. His rep issued a statement to press confirming the appearance, which will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his album “Death Certificate.”
“[It is] an album that was recorded in the wake of the Rodney King beating in 1991, which sadly, speaks to many of the same race issues that we as a society are still dealing with today,” the spokesperson said.
