After Samantha Bee was criticized for calling presidential adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump a “feckless cunt” who needs to convince her father to change his immigration policies, the host issued an apology on Thursday.
Samantha Bee to @IvankaTrump on Full Frontal tonight: "Let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices you feckless cunt!” https://t.co/S8BhRYNYxD
“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 a statement to BuzzFeed News. “It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.”
TBS also apologized in a statement to BuzzFeed News, saying, “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.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said Bee’s comments were “vile and vicious.” Sanders also said TBS executives and Time Warner "must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this administration will not be condoned."
Bee's vulgar remarks were in relation to twin scandals about immigrant children.
Amid outcry over the weekend over the scandals, including by some who incorrectly conflated the two stories, Ivanka Trump shared this photo on social media, which some deemed tone-deaf.
My ♥️! #SundayMorning
“Ivanka Trump, who works at the White House, chose to post the second most oblivious tweet we’ve seen this week,” Bee said on Wednesday's show.
“You know, Ivanka, that’s a beautiful photo of you and your child,” Bee said. “But let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices, you feckless cunt!”
Samantha Bee to @IvankaTrump on Full Frontal tonight: "Let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices you feckless cunt!” https://t.co/S8BhRYNYxD
“He listens to you,” Bee said. “Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to fucking stop it. Tell him it was an Obama thing and see how it goes, OK?”
Some people on Twitter weren't too happy with Bee calling Ivanka Trump a "feckless cunt."
“Oh, you’re like actually bothered by Samantha Bee calling a mom a ‘feckless c*nt’ over a photo with her child?” Yes. I am.
They noted that in January 2017 Bee told the New York Times that "these next four years are going to require a broad coalition of straight-up decency."
“Decency”
Amid the ongoing scandal over the cancellation of Roseanne after Roseanne Barr's racist comments, Bee's remarks were especially controversial.
If you are celebrating that Roseanne’s show was canceled but are not offended by Samantha Bee calling Ivanka Trump a "feckless c**t" you are part of the problem. You can’t have it both ways.
Right-wing figures were particularly incensed, including commentator Michelle Malkin...
Alas, there is nothing Samantha Bee can do about her potty mouth and pea-sized brain. https://t.co/ZXop2CSV6r
2012 Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain...
Hey @TBSNetwork, shall I assume the Samantha Bee cancellation news will come later today? No? You don't care that this poor man's Jon Stewart is completely horrible? Ok, then... https://t.co/XPYlq0nzFw
One America News Network host Liz Wheeler...
Waiting for the liberal outrage & firing of Samantha Bee for calling Ivanka Trump a feckless c$nt on air.
and Christian blogger Matt Walsh.
I have no problem calling for the firing of Samantha Bee. Her show is atrocious and her rhetoric is vile and revolting. TBS should get rid of her and we should demand they do so. I supported ABC firing Roseanne and I will call for TBS to be held to same standard.
NBC's Megyn Kelly, who used to work at Fox News, was also no fan. "This is disgusting," she wrote. "How is this acceptable?"
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. https://t.co/YTjmZQ4zMV
Some wondered if there was a double standard at play.
Can we talk about what would have happened if Roseanne had called Malia Obama a c*nt
Where’s the condemnation? Why do I suspect that if Ivanka had been the daughter of a Democratic President, that Samantha Bee would have already been fired? #DoubleStandards https://t.co/mNPZHcRvqQ
But this argument was countered by comedian Kathy Griffin.
Yes we can talk about it..but first let’s talk about this: 1. Ivanka is 36. Malia was 10 when she entered the White House 2. Ivanka is a senior administration official.. 3. @iamsambee is a comic 4. Your tweet is ridiculous https://t.co/W7y7S0mewG
Bee had other supporters, too.
Samantha Bee calling Ivanka a cunt is not insulting to all women, just Ivanka. Roseanne insulted an entire race... If every male who called Trump a "dick" got fired, unemployment would be at 60%. #ThursdayThoughts
They said comparing Roseanne Barr's comments to Bee's was a "false equivalency."
Right-wing America comparing harsh dissent over real issues from Samantha Bee to blatant antisemitism and racism from Roseanne shows that conservatives still don’t take bigotry seriously enough. Bee could’ve used a less offensive word, but this is an obvious false equivalency.
me @ everyone uttering samantha bee & roseanne’s name right now: “FECKLESS CUNT” IS NOT THE SAME AS RACISM “FECKLESS CUNT” IS NOT THE SAME AS RACISM “FECKLESS CUNT” IS NOT THE SAME AS RACISM “FECKLESS CUNT” IS NOT THE SAME AS RACISM
Oscar-winner Sally Field also offered her own defense.
I like Samantha Bee a lot, but she is flat wrong to call Ivanka a cunt. Cunts are powerful, beautiful, nurturing and honest.
When asked if they would take any disciplinary action against Bee, a TBS spokesperson said they had no further comment.
UPDATE
This post has been updated with Bee's and TBS' apology.