Samantha Bee apologizes to Ivanka Trump over comments on Full Frontal
You can see this statement, per Twitter, below:
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.
This statement comes after the White House strongly condemned Bee’s comments and called on TBS’ parent company Time Warner to take some sort of action against the comedian. All of these fires are stoked further by accusations that liberal television personalities have received less punishment for inflammatory actions than their conservative counterparts. Is this statement going to squelch people calling for her termination? We doubt it.
CarterMatt isn’t a political site, and with that, it makes such stories as this one difficult to cover since so much of the conversation around it is politically charged. Yet, there is importance to reporting on the story and we will say this: Obviously Bee’s comments were meant to cause outrage and to generate a strong reaction. For many comedians, getting a gasp is just as good as getting a laugh — it brings attention to themselves and their craft. Yet, it’s also very different making a comment on a television show, where you are associated with larger, corporate brands, and also making a shocking comment in a comedy club where you have a greater freedom to speak their own mind. The consequences associated with each are different.
We’re not even going to bother looking for social-media reactions to this story, largely because we know already what it’s going to contain — anger and toxic commentary from all over the place. It’s an angry and toxic world in general for so many people out there, and we do think that’s where so many moments like these stem from. It’s easy to say that comedians and television hosts should tone things down on their programs, but they’re often a reflection of society and there is so much more rage out there than in recent memory. There are very few escapes from it.
Update: TBS has also responded, taking some responsibility for the comments airing — which they should have, since they had control in what gets put on their network:
“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.”
If there is more to share, we will add it. (Photo: TBS.)