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Ice Cube To Confront Bill Maher Over Racial Slur Gaffe On ‘Real Time’: What To Expect From The Interview

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 22:10 PST, Jun 5, 2017

The outrage over Bill Maher’s racial slur on last Friday’s episode of Real Time shows no sign of simmering down, and the comedian host’s use of the N-word is going to be brought up again in the show’s next episode thanks to American rapper Ice Cube.

On Monday, Sen. Al Franken announced he’s canceling his appearance on Real Time because of Maher’s controversial “house n*****” remark. Since then, many people wondered whether Ice Cube is going to do the same. A source close to Cube, however, told TMZ that the rapper won’t be canceling his appearance. In fact, the N.W.A.’s former de facto leader is eager to sit down with Bill Maher, specifically because he is looking forward to confronting the controversial host over his use of the N-word last Friday.

Ice Cube, who was booked to appear on Bill Maher’s show before the host made his controversial remark, is reportedly looking forward to talking about the 25th-anniversary edition of his Death Certificate album. The rapper’s rep said the appearance was perfectly timed because the record was made in the wake of Rodney King’s death. The rep adds that King’s death “speaks to many of the same race issues we as a society are still dealing with today.”

Bill Maher’s upcoming interview with Ice Cube is bound to be interesting and potentially volatile considering the “Check Yo Self” hitmaker’s solid stance against racism.

Ice Cube, whose former rap group N.W.A. were known for being political, told GQ in 2015 that racism is still very much alive in the last 30 years, as reported by Music News.

“It’s all the same thing, man. People don’t understand that songs like ‘F**k tha Police’ are 400 years in the making. It’s a constant racism that affects black people in this country that’s never stopped,” Ice Cube said. “What’s crazy is that the people who inflict the pain don’t expect you to scream, don’t expect you to holler, don’t expect you to say that it hurts, don’t expect you to say, ‘Leave me alone!’ don’t expect protests. They expect you to just grin and bear it. Hell no. Hell no.”

Going by Ice Cube’s statement to GQ, one can easily assume he’s none too pleased with Maher’s controversial remark last week. That said, it’s interesting to note that Ice Cube doesn’t have a problem with white people using the N-word per se. As reported by The Jasmine Brand, he didn’t have a problem with Quentin Tarantino over the frequent use of the N-word in his movie Django Unchained. For the rapper, it’s all about context.

“[The N-word] to me doesn’t make the movie much more inflammatory than the next. It was a great Western. I usually don’t mind movies that people think go overboard because that’s what art is all about.”

That said, the way Bill Maher used the N-word last week might not pass Cube’s litmus test considering the context with which the comedian used the term. For one, Maher’s “house n*****” remark wasn’t uttered in the name of art, it was made to draw cheap laughs.

As reported by ABC, Bill Maher will remain on air amid backlash over his racial slur on the show. HBO said Maher will address the incident when he returns to the show on Friday night.

“Bill Maher’s show will air as regularly scheduled Friday night,” the network said in a statement Monday.

Maher used the N-word during an interview with Sen. Ben Sasse, in which the Republican Senator invited the comedian host to his home state of Nebraska, saying that he should “work in the fields with us.”

“Work in the fields? Senator, I’m a house n—–,” Maher joked, drawing nervous laughter from the audience.

Do you think HBO let Bill Maher off easy by allowing him to return on air despite his racial slur gaffe on Real Time last week? How do you think Ice Cube’s interview with Maher will go down considering the American rapper’s strong stance against racism? Share us your thoughts below.

[Featured Image by Stuart C. Wilson and Michael Kovac/Getty Images]

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