Late-night TV host says ‘I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers’ for her expletive-filled tirade
Samantha Bee apologised on Thursday for an “inappropriate and inexcusable” remark about Ivanka Trump on Wednesday night. On her TBS show, the late-night host savaged the president’s daughter for her role in her father’s immigration policy – but Bee’s expletive-filled comment drew condemnation, particularly among conservatives, and a rebuke from the White House.
In her apology, Bee said: “I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.”
Trevor Noah on Roseanne: 'You know who I blame for this? Donald Trump' Read more
Samantha Bee: ‘We’ve had awful immigration practices since always’
Bee began her show by saying: “We are going to talk about racism: I just popped an Ambien, so buckle up, everyone.”
Bee showed a news segment about migrant children being taken into government custody at the border, and the Department of Justice’s plan to prosecute 100% of people crossing the border illegally, including asylum seekers and undocumented workers.
Bee said: “Tearing children away from their parents is so evil, it’s the inciting incident in almost every movie we’ve ever cared about. According to haunted marionette Jeff Sessions, these babies are actually baby criminals.”
In a clip Bee played, Sessions, the attorney general, said: “If you don’t want your child to be separated, then don’t bring them across the border illegally. It’s not our fault.”
Samantha Bee on the Trump administration’s approach to immigration.
Bee continued: “Don’t worry. The Trump administration has a really good explanation for why they’re treating migrants like animals. It was all Obama’s idea!” She then showed pundits claiming that it was the Obama administration that instituted the policy of separating migrant children from their parents.
Bee replied: “They’re half right. We have had awful immigration practices since, well, always, even under presidents we like seeing shirtless. A recent report from the ACLU describes hundreds of abuses of migrant children while in custody of the US government during the Obama administration. And just last week, this image circulated of children being kept in an Arizona holding facility in 2014.”
The language used by Samantha Bee is vile and vicious. Her disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast Sarah Sanders
Bee said: “No, Donald Trump didn’t invent this issue – he’s just making it so much worse. Now everyone who even approaches the border is treated like a criminal.
She continued: “So now, after decades of ignoring the issue, Americans are finally paying attention. Well, most of us. Ivanka Trump, who works at the White House, chose to post the second most oblivious tweet we’ve seen this week.”
Bee, showing a photo Trump posted of her and her son, addressed the president’s daughter directly: “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 cunt.”
Bee added: “He listens to you. Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to fucking stop it.”
On Thursday morning, many conservative media figures denounced her language and asked that the host be held to the same standard as Roseanne Barr, whose sitcom was canceled by ABC after a racist tweet that compared Valerie Jarrett to an ape.
“The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious,” said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders in a statement. “The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling.”
Sanders added: “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.”
NBC’s Megyn Kelly, once a primetime anchor at Fox News, compared Bee’s comments to Barr’s. “This is disgusting. How is this acceptable?” Kelly tweeted. “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 Roseanne? You know the saying Love is Love? Well Hate is Hate.”
Early Thursday afternoon Bee, 48, in a statement issued by TBS, which airs Full Frontal, said: “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.”
TBS issued its own statement. “Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump last night,” the network said. “Those words should not have been aired. It was our mistake too, and we regret it.”
Trevor Noah: ‘Reboot Family Matters with a super-woke Steve Urkel’
Meanwhile, Comedy Central’s Trevor Noah discussed the cancellation of Roseanne Barr’s sitcom.
Noah said: “By now, we all know that Roseanne was fired for tweeting that former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was the birth child of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Planet of the Apes. Many people applauded ABC for reacting swiftly and cancelling Roseanne. Personally, I think ABC could do more. I think they could go one step further and reboot Family Matters with a super-woke Steve Urkel.”
He went on: “Roseanne getting fired wasn’t a shock because, let’s be honest, comparing a black person to an ape is what I like to all ‘shit-your-pants’ racism. Even the anti-PC brigade agreed Roseanne had gone too far.”
The host then showed coverage of Roseanne’s remarks on Fox News, where she was condemned by Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters and the hosts of Fox & Friends.
The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) "Comparing a black person to an ape is what I call 'shit-your-pants racism.' Everyone can smell it, everyone can see it, and nobody wants to help you clean it up."
Trevor on Roseanne’s racist tweets: https://t.co/y7QeTGyOQ1 pic.twitter.com/3N6HXIpr9j
Noah said: “After this, Roseanne apologized on Twitter and said the reason she tweeted those racist things was because she was on Ambien and it was Memorial Day. In Roseanne’s defense, tweeting stuff that is racist while you’re on Ambien I do understand, because if you listen carefully to their ads there is a subtle warning about just this thing.”
Ivanka Trump photo with son sparks backlash over border separations Read more
The host then showed a mock advertisement for Ambien, “for a good night’s sleep and potential racism”.
Samantha Bee has apologized for describing First Daughter Ivanka Trump by using a crude euphemism for a female body par, saying her comment on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee was “inappropriate and inexcusable.”
“I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it,” Bee said in the statement shared on Twitter.
The apology came hours after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke out out the comment. “The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious. The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling,” Sanders said in a statement to TheWrap.
Bee, who hosts Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on TBS, was referring to a photo that Ivanka Trump tweeted on Sunday showing her cuddling with her toddler son Theodore. Bee juxtaposed it with a U.S. immigration policy that allows border security officials to separate children from their parents if they are caught crossing over into the U.S. (The policy itself had been the subject of rancorous confusion following a misleading viral news story.)
“Y’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 policies, you feckless c***,” the comedian said Wednesday during a monologue on her show. “He listens to you. Put on something tight and low-cut and tell him to stop it.”
In her statement, Sanders went on to suggest that the executives responsible for Bee’s show should take action about the matter.
“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.”
TBS did not immediately return TIME’s request for comment.
Sanders is far from the only one upset about the episode. Just hours before Bee’s monologue, ABC had announced that it was canceling its reboot of Roseanne after its star, Roseanne Barr, posted a tweet comparing Valerie Jarrett, an advisor to President Barack Obama, to an ape. Commentators on the right were swift to suggest a double standard among television networks.
Samantha Bee went after Ivanka Trump on her TBS show Full Frontal on Wednesday, and Megyn Kelly was none too happy.
The popular television host was criticizing the Trump administration's new policy of separating children who illegally cross the southern border from their parents, and ended the segment with a vulgar plea to the president's closest aide.
After showing a photo of Ivanka and her toddler son Theodore, Bee said: '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 c***.'
That was too much for Kelly, who decided to take aim at Bee on Twitter and drag Roseanne Barr into the debate.
'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?' wrote Kelly.
'You know the saying Love is Love? Well Hate is Hate.'
Bee did not enter into an argument with Kelly, and instead apologized on Thursday afternoon, writing: '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.'
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What the feck: Samantha Bee (above) went after Ivanka Trump for posting a photo with her son after her father started a new border policy that separates children from their parents
Backlash: Megyn Kelly (above) responded by calling her tweet 'disgusting'
Tweet beat: She then attack media who 'gleefully repost something like this at the same time they (rightfully) condemn @therealroseanne?'
'Tearing children away from their parents is so evil it's the inciting incident in almost every movie we've ever cared about,' said Bee of the administration's new policy.
She later said: 'But don't worry the Trump administration has a really good explanation for why they're treating migrants like animals. It was Obama's idea.'
That was a reference to President Trump's claims that the refusal of Democrats to support his border wall has forced him to enact this new policy.
Bee did point out that while he did not employ the same practice, Barack Obama also reacted a number of immigration policies that were controversial at the time.
'Donald Trump didn't invent this issue he's just making it so much worse,' claimed Bee.
'Now everyone who even approaches the border is treated like a criminal.'
She then ended with her Ivanka comment, one that Meghan McCain also seemed to take issue with as she retweeted Kelly.
Bee also added: 'He listens to you. Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to f***ing stop it. Tell him that was an Obama thing and see how it goes.'
The picture of Ivanka affectionately hugging her youngest son Theodore that has landed her in hot water, with the mother-of-three captioning the Instagram post by writing: 'My [love].'
The backlash to Ivanka's post was swift, with actor Patton Oswalt tweeting: 'Isn't it the just the best to snuggle your little one -- knowing exactly where they are, safe in your arms? It's the best. The BEST. Right, Ivanka? Right?'
Chelsea Handler, a frequent detractor of the Trump administration, wrote: 'What in the world is wrong with this family? Is this picture supposed to remind Mexican asylum seekers what they've lost?'
And singer Halsey, 23, tweeted: 'I wonder what #SundayMorning is like for the parents of 1500 lost children your father is responsible for. F—k your #SundayMorning.'
Loving embrace: Ivanka Trump shared a photo with her son Theodore on Instagram Sunday, which showed the mother affectionately holding her youngest child (above)
Clap back: The decision to share the photo led to backlash from some on social media, with one woman calling Ivanka as 'nasty, soulless little troll' (above)
Chelsea lately: Chelsea Handler, a frequent detractor of the Trump administration, wrote: 'What in the world is wrong with this family? Is this picture supposed to remind Mexican asylum seekers what they've lost?'
Blame game: President Trump said over the weekend that this policy would be ended if Democrats supported his plan for a wall at the southern border (above)
That was a reference to the testimony of Steven Wagner, a senior official in the Department of Health and Human Services who told a congressional committee last month that the government had been 'unable to determine with certainty the whereabouts of 1,475' minor immigrant children after attempting to contact their sponsors in the last three months of 2017.
'@IvankaTrump, you are lucky to hold your son while 1500 mothers cannot, because your father ripped their children away under a vicious policy that he created. Ivanka, #WhereAreTheChildren?' wrote director Paola Mendoza.
And Niacarguan-born Republican pundit Ana Navaro stated: '@IvankaTrump, lovely picture. How nice that you get to hold your child in your arms and not face the anguish of having him torn from you and left to God knows what fate. #WhereAreTheChidren.'
President Trump meanwhile declared that it is the Democrats fault he has been forced to carry out this policy, which he has falsely declared on multiple occasions is a law.
'Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there parents once they cross the Border into the U.S. Catch and Release, Lottery and Chain must also go with it and we MUST continue building the WALL! DEMOCRATS ARE PROTECTING MS-13 THUGS,' tweeted President Trump on Saturday.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions first announced the administration's 'zero tolerance' policy in a memo to federal prosecutors in early April.
He then followed that up a month later by announcing that the Department of Homeland Security would now refer all persons illegally crossing the border for prosecution in federal court.
As a further deterrent he added: 'If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child may be separated from you as required by law.'
Ivanka has made no acknowledgement of the outcry, which she previously faced just a week into her father's presidency when she shared a photo of herself and husband Jared Kushner in black-tie attire just hours after the Trump administration announced it would ban the residents of seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States.
That photo was posted before Ivanka had formally accepted a role in her father's administration.
