Senator Al Franken Cancels Appearance on Bill Maher's Real Time Amid Controversy

It seems like people can't jump ship on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maherfast enough after Bill Maher used the N-word as the punchline of one of his jokes.

Maher joked with Senator Ben Sasse that he was a "house n---er" on Friday (June 2nd), and people predictably went nuts immediately after. Now, it seems Senator Al Franken of Minnesota doesn't want to be tied to a similar situation and has cancelled his scheduled appearance on the show.

"Senator Franken believes that what Bill Maher said was inappropriate and offensive, which is why he made the decision not to appear on the next episode of Real Time," a Franken spokesperson said in a statement to HuffPost. "He was glad to see Bill, who the Senator considers to be a good friend, apologize and express sincere regret for his comment."

Bill Maher Under Fire for Using N-Word In "Joke"

So far, there's been no word from HBO about repercussions for the incident, and Real Time is scheduled to air Friday as planned.

Real Time with Bill Maher airs Fridays at 10/9c on HBO.