Comedian Samantha Bee is facing backlash after what she
called Ivanka Trump..and now some people are saying she should no longer have a
show on TBS, the Hill reports. Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story. Buzz60
Samantha Bee is apologizing for crossing a line in a Full
Frontal immigration segment aimed at Ivanka Trump in Wednesday's
episode. "Do something," the TBS host urged, calling the president's
daughter and aide a female slur. The offending word was bleeped.
"I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka
Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last
night," Bee said in her apology
tweet, published Thursday afternoon, after the clip had been removed
from YouTube. "It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and
I deeply regret it."
In a separate statement, TBS said, "Samantha Bee has taken
the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she
used about Ivanka Trump last night. Those words should not have been
aired. It was our mistake too, and we regret it.”
That evening, Bee addressed her controversial commentary while
accepting a Television Academy Honors award, according to IndieWire.
“The thing is, our show is steeped in passion,” Bee supposedly said. “Every
week, I strive to show the world as I see it, unfiltered. Sometimes, I should
probably have a filter. I accept that. I take it seriously when I get it right,
and I do take responsibility when I get it wrong.”
But Bee also didn't want one word to detract from the focus of
her segment: Trump's immigration policy. “We spent the day wrestling with
the repercussions of one bad word, when we all should have spent the day
incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating
people legally seeking asylum as criminals,” she said, according to the outlet.
“If we are OK with that, then really, who are we?”
The talk show host continued, reportedly adding: “I can tell
you, as long as we have breath in our bodies and 21 minutes of airtime once a
week, repeats on Saturdays, that we as a show will never stop shouting
(about) the inhumanities of this world from the rooftops and striving to
make it a better place. But in a comedy way.”
President Trump wasn't having it.
"Why aren’t they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the
horrible language used on her low ratings show?" he tweeted Friday
morning, adding that the difference in outcomes for Bee and the fired Roseanne
Barr reflected a "total double standard"
by the media. (Ivanka Trump remained silent.)
Samantha Bee vs. Roseanne Barr: Double standard? Twitter
reacts
It was his first direct comment on the matter and echoed
earlier statements from Stephanie Grisham, the spokeswoman for first lady
Melania Trump, and his own press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump,
accused the media of bias in quickly canceling Roseanne over its
star's racist tweet, directed at former President Obama's aide Valerie
Jarrett, but merely apologizing for language directed at President Trump's
daughter.
"The double standard is truly astounding," Grisham
said. "Time and again the Trump family and members of this administration
are subjected to false reporting, hateful rhetoric and outrageous lies, all in
the name of freedom of speech or comedy, yet the mainstream media stays
silent."
Sanders added, “The language used by Samantha Bee last night is
vile and vicious. The collective silence by the left and its media allies is
appalling,” she said in a statement. "Her disgusting comments and
show are not fit for broadcast, and executives at Time Warner and TBS must
demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this
administration will not be condoned on its network.”
Used-car marketplace AutoTrader.com also announced Thursday
that it was pulling its ads from Full Frontal amid the mounting
backlash.
"Thank you to those who reached out regarding our
sponsorship of Full Frontal," they announced on Twitter.
" The comments expressed by Samantha Bee were offensive and unacceptable
and do not reflect the views of our company. As a result, we have suspended our
sponsorship of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee."
Insurance company State Farm soon followed, saying they have
suspended advertising on the show and are reviewing any future
placements.
How it began
The TBS host had a short but striking message for the first
daughter, whom she urged to "do something" about her father's
immigration policy rather than post "the second most oblivious tweet
we've seen this week."
"You know, Ivanka, that's a beautiful photo of you and
your child but let me just say, one mother to another: Do something about your
dad's immigration practices you feckless (expletive)," she said. "He
listens to you."
Bee suggested, "Put on something tight and low cut and
tell your father to (expletive) stop it," she said. "Tell him it was
an Obama thing and see how it goes."
The Trump administration has been stepping up criminal
prosecutions of people crossing the border illegally this month, in line
with President Trump campaign promises. Earlier this week, debate sparked
around the administration's policy of separating immigrant
children from their parents at the border.
Bee also suggested a way to get the president to
listen."Put on something tight and low cut and tell your father to
(expletive) stop it," she said. "Tell him it was an Obama thing and
see how it goes."
The reaction
Bee's comment, especially the use of the c-word, didn't go
without notice, as many tweeted their disapproval and compared her to Roseanne
Barr, whose show ABC canceled following her racist tweets.
Conservative blogger Erick Erickson pointed out
inequalities he sees between what liberals and conservatives can get away with
saying.
"So ABC just fired Roseanne for her tweet. Will TBS fire
Samatha Bee for her actual on-air monologue?," he questioned.
"Seems to me that calling Ivanka Trump a 'feckless (expletive)' is
just as bad as suggesting Valerie Jarrett is an ape."
He continued, "All the progressives in my timeline telling me the Roseanne
situation and Samantha Bee situation are not comparable will, I’m sure, be fine
when Trump supporters start calling Clinton, Warren, Pelosi, etc. the same as
what Samantha Bee called Ivanka Trump."
NBC's Megyn Kelly also tweeted about Bee's comments.
"This is disgusting. How is this acceptable? And how are we expected to
take any of these publications seriously if they gleefully repost something
like this at the same time they (rightfully) condemn @therealroseanne? You know
the saying Love is Love? Well Hate is Hate," she tweeted, sharing a story
about Bee's comments.
Former presidential candidate Herman Cain also commented about
canceling Bee's show.
"Hey @TBSNetwork, shall I assume the Samantha Bee cancellation news will
come later today? No?" he tweeted. "You don't care that this poor
man's Jon Stewart is completely horrible? Ok, then..."
For her part, Barr didn't want her supporters comparing her to
Bee. On Thursday, she tweeted, "please
don't compare me2 other people who have said horrible things. I only care about
apologizing 4 the hurt I have unwittingly & stupidly caused. I humbly
confess contrition & remorse. I failed2 correctly express myself, &
caused pain2 ppl."
Others agreed with Bee's comments.
"Ivanka Trump is a feckless (expletive). Thank you for
your honesty, Samantha Bee," one user tweeted.
"(Samantha Bee) is great at triggering conservative snowflakes."
"If you think Samantha Bee's vulgarity is equivalent to racism then you're
either ignorant, maliciously dishonest, or a racist yourself," another
said, defending Bee.
"Stop comparing it to what @TheRealRoseanne said. Roseanne
used a racist term. Samantha did not," another said.
Bee also took aim at Roseanne Barr's tweet that suggested
sleep drug Ambien caused her to make
racist comments earlier this week.
Barr wrote in a since-deleted tweet Tuesday that "muslim
brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj." The "vj"
stood for Valerie Jarrett, an Obama White House aide. This led to the cancellation of her hit
ABC show Roseanne.
Sanofi, who makes Ambien, tweeted a response to
Barr, who claimed she was "Ambien tweeting": "While all
pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect
of any Sanofi medication."
Full Frontal decided to see what it would be like if
racism was a side effect, however, by imagining a commercial for the
drug that reassured "a great night sleep and a convenient excuse are just
one little pill away."
The fake ad also warned that in addition to helping you fall
asleep, the drug may make you "more racist."
"I mean, you were already racist, but maybe Ambien made it
worse?" the narrator says. "Until you know how Ambien will effect
you, you shouldn't drive in urban areas, operate heavy machinery or visit a
Starbucks."
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