Bill Maher has not had the easiest year so far, as recent controversies like his booking of right-wing troll Milo Yiannopoulos and his casual dropping of the N-word have threatened to overshadow his long, venerable history of Islamophobia. With all the attention surrounding that latest transgression—which led people like DeRay Mckesson and Chance The Rapper to call for HBO to fire him from Real Time, Ice Cube to give him a stern talking-to, and Maher himself to issue a rare apology—it’s safe to assume that Maher is being extra mindful about saying anything else that could be construed as bigoted, especially when every remark of his is being so closely scrutinized by a public eager for him to slip up again.
It’s a good time, in other words, for Maher to take a much-needed vacation and not, say, dabble in cheap racial stereotypes for a joke!
Bill Maher, come on, man… What are you doing?
Granted, on the scale of “suggesting Zayn Malik was the Boston Marathon bomber” and “just throwing the ol’ N-word around,” making a weird joke about Koreans working at nail salons ranks relatively low. But Christ, man, it’s such an unnecessary risk tied up in such a witless, hacky construction, all for a vague whiff of a punchline on a topic absolutely no one needs a humorous “take” on. You’re at a nail salon? And all the women there are talking about “this North Korean thing”? But also you’re not really sure what that’s all about, because you’re on vacation? What the fuck are you even talking about, dude? This is exactly what the “Drafts” folder is for.
Anyway, as his latest online pillorying commences, Maher has already broken from his vacation yet again for a hot joke he just had to get out about Sarah Palin being too dumb for the TV Guide crossword, two things most people have not thought about in nearly a decade.
Fucking hell, man. Please just take a break.