Samantha Bee apologizes to Ivanka Trump for using vulgar slur
'It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it,' Canadian comedian says
Samantha Bee is apologizing after referring to Ivanka Trump with a vulgar word on her TBS comedy show.
"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 Thursday afternoon.
"It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it."
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. It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.
—@iamsambeeEarlier in the day, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called Bee's language "vile and vicious" and said executives at TBS and corporate parent Time Warner "must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this administration will not be condoned."
Bee called Ivanka Trump a "feckless c--t" toward the end of a segment about U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies on her show, Full Frontal, on Wednesday. She used the slur in urging Ivanka Trump to speak to her father about policies that separate children from their parents.
Bee said, "Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to f--king stop it."
TBS issued its own statement saying Bee was right to apologize. "It was our mistake, too, and we regret it," the network said. Nothing was said about whether Bee or the show would face disciplinary action.
The U.S. president weighed in on Friday morning via Twitter, saying it's a "total double standard" that Bee hadn't been fired.
Why aren’t they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show? A total double standard but that’s O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!
—@realDonaldTrumpComing two days after ABC cancelled Roseanne following a racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Bee's remark was immediately seized upon by conservatives who believe that offensive language by liberals is not viewed as harshly.
Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary under President George W. Bush, tweeted that there's a double standard in action when you compare the mainstream media's reactions between the two events.
Compare ABC’s reaction to Roseanne Barr’s tweet w TBS’s non-reaction to Samantha Bee and you’ll see a double-standard in action. There’s no uprising against Bee. Why? Because she is liberal. Because the MSM protects Obama and his aides, but not Trump. The hypocrisy is sickening.
—@AriFleischerCanadian comedian and host Bee, formerly at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, got her own show at TBS, and it's one of the network's biggest successes.
Bee's commentary is likely to be a corporate headache. Time Warner, which owns channels including TBS, CNN and HBO, is in the process of being acquired by AT&T for $85 billion US.
The Justice Department has sued to block the deal, however, due to monopoly concerns, and a decision on whether or not it will proceed is expected June 12.