Bill Maher slams cancel culture: ‘What happened to just accepting the apology?’

HBO host Bill Maher on Friday offered further sharp criticism of cancel culture, adding to the liberal commentator’s regular criticism of the aggressive public shaming that appears to be sweeping the nation.

Noting the recent controversy surrounding the Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard, who has faced criticism for having used an anti-Jewish slur during a video game, Maher claimed during his show Real Time’s panel discussion that "before the day was out, [Leonard was] banned, fined by the NBA and traded."

Leonard issued a "groveling apology," Maher pointed out, "and then he's meeting with rabbis, Holocaust survivors ... . Do we have to drag the Holocaust into this? Really?"

Maher continued: "Does everything have to be a summary execution in America? What happened to just accepting the apology? Oh OK, you made a mistake as humans do. I mean, could we get on with our lives?"

Public figures in recent months and years have regularly issued abject apologies after having engaged in behavior that activists and other have deemed offensive. Cultural critics, meanwhile, have slammed what has been dubbed “cancel culture” for its ruthless and uncompromising standards of public conduct.