On Wednesday, May 30, comedian Samantha Bee ignited controversy by referring to Ivanka Trump as a "feckless c**t" on her show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Backlash over her comments quickly became too much to ignore, and Bee has now issued a statement responding to claims that she went too far in her criticism of the White House Senior Advisor.
Samantha Bee later apologized in a statement to Huffpost:
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.
The White House was quick to chastise Bee for her words, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying the comments were "vile and vicious." She also said:
The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling...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.
I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe… https://t.co/bwphm63ZAb— Samantha Bee (@Samantha Bee) 1527790590.0
TBS has also apologized, and has made it clear Bee will be returning to the air in light of her concession:
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.
Though TBS was happy about Bee's apology, it didn't seem welcome to the rest of the world. Many conservatives online are refusing to accept the apology and are calling for Bee's firing, saying countless conservative media personalities have been fired for "similar" incidents.
Certain apologies are accepted and certain apologies are not. @iamsambee @JoyAnnReid @JoyVBehar @therealroseanne #DefendingtheFirst— Laura Ingraham (@Laura Ingraham) 1527794002.0
SO. "Samantha Bee" and Joy Behar get to issue lame apologies and go on insulting us all. Roseanne got fired. #DoubleStandard— Stacy Washington (@Stacy Washington) 1527795683.0
Meanwhile, liberals also claim a double standard is at play: one where the President can say or do whatever he wants, and a comedian is under fire for using a dirty word.
Still no apologies from Trump's remarks regarding... well, everything. https://t.co/SkzsklcNPo— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈) 1527791010.0
If Samantha Bee should immediately be barred from TV for on one occasion using the c-word to describe another woman… https://t.co/mDyGbYV1bQ— Seth Abramson (@Seth Abramson) 1527790652.0
It seems everyone has incredibly strong feelings about the latest Trump scandal...just the way the President likes it.
I am all for free speech, but people who say disgusting and divisive things shouldn’t be given a platform. They sho… https://t.co/Etw4NS05U4— Nicholas (@Nicholas) 1527791197.0
Let's never forget what an ideal world would look like:
My favorite part of the sincere Samantha Bee apology was Ivanka Trump's gracious acceptance & @realDonaldTrump usin… https://t.co/paydSTql8B— Tom Arnold (@Tom Arnold) 1527800001.0