Coco Johnsen, an African-American model who dated television host Bill Maher in the early part of the millennium, has a bit of advice for him following his use of a racial slur: don’t.

While speaking with TMZ Wednesday, Johnsen said that anyone who uses the N-word is “very insensitive” and should “just use another word next time.”

Maher came under fire for using the controversially offensive remark ahead of an episode of Real Time, which he serves as host for. During a segment with Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) last week, the political commentator jokingly referred to himself as a “house n***er.”

Maher soon apologized after a wave of backlash that resulted in Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) canceling his scheduled appearance on the show.

When asked if she thought Maher was racist, Johnsen said she just felt he may have used the term for “shock value.”

“I wouldn’t say that he’s racist. I just think he’s maybe using the word like a comedian would use [it] like for some shock value,” Johnsen said. “But maybe there’s a lesson in this.”

It for sure is a lesson. Don’t use that word. But like Coco said, hopefully Maher gets it now.