Samantha Bee addresses Ivanka Trump controversy on "Full Frontal"
Comedian Samantha Bee used to the opening of her show Wednesday to apologize again for using a vulgar insult to describe Ivanka Trump, which had led to days of cable news discussion and even condemnation from the White House. "I should have known that a potty-mouthed insult would be inherently more interesting juvenile immigration policy," Bee said.
While discussing President Trump's immigration policies last week, Bee called Mr. Trump's daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump a "feckless c***." ""Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to f**king stop it," Bee said.
Bee apologized last week, but not before two sponsors dropper her show. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the remark "vile and vicious." And on Friday, Mr. Trump tweeted "Why aren't they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show?"
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2018
On Wednesday, Bee again said she "crossed a line." She admitted she used the phrase many times, hoping to "reclaim it."
"The problem is, many women have heard that word at the worst moments of their lives," Bee said. "A lot of them don't want that word reclaimed, they want it gone. And I don't blame them. I don't want to inflict more pain on them. I want this show to be challenging and iw ant it to be honest, but I never intended it to hurt anyone – except Ted Cruz. Many men were also offended by use of the word. I do not care about that."
Bee said she hates that she "distracted" from more important news, and "did something to contribute to the nightmare of 24-hour news cycles that we're all white-knuckling through."
Bee said she would "do anything" to help the immigrant children who have either been separated from their parents or lost in the immigration system, and she apologized for distracting from the issue.
Bee's comment about Ivanka Trump came just one day after Roseanne Barr's racist tweet led ABC to cancel "Roseanne." Bee's remark led many conversatives to claim a double standard for liberals, and for others to condemn the vulgar language.
Bee on Wednesday would not apologize for the "death of civility."
"If you are worried of the death of civility, don't sweat it – I'm a comedian," Bee said. "People who hone their voices at basement bars while yelling back at drunk hecklers are definitely not paragons of civility. I am, I'm really sorry I said that word, but you know what, civility is just nice words. Maybe we should worry a little bit more about the niceness of our actions."