The White House this morning blasted Samantha Bee and TBS over Bee having called White House staffer/ First Daughter Ivanka Trump a “feckless c**t” in a segment about President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. “The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious. The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “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 has not yet responded, but has pulled the video. Related Story Quinta Brunson Joins Season 3 Of TBS' 'Miracle Workers' As Recurring Though it had mostly been conservative critics blasting away at Bee this morning, CNN joined in this morning. “Let me just say, one parent to another – parent of a daughter – no, no, no!” CNN’s John King said of Bee’s remark, shortly after the White House issued its statement. “Criticize the president’s daughter, criticize the policy. Some things just aren’t funny,” King insisted. “Roseanne’s racism is not funny. Samantha Bee using that word is not funny. Sarah Sanders just called it vile and vicious language. I could not agree more,” he continued. CNN and TBS both are networks of Time Warner, which is awaiting news as to the fate of its plans to merge with AT&T. “CNN is owned by Time Warner. This is a family issue, if you will,” King acknowledged on air. “Apologize. And the company – forgive me, I work here – but the company should say something too,” the CNN veteran said. CNN stopped short of the conservative cry for TBS to cancel her show, in much same way ABC cancelled Roseanne Barr’s comedy series this week after she compared former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to an ape in a tweet. Among conservatives leading the charge this morning, Michelle Malkin said, “alas there is nothing Samantha Bee can do about her potty mouth and pea-sized brain,” and Liz Wheeler said she was “waiting for the liberal outrage & firing of Samantha Bee for calling Ivanka Trump a feckless c$nt on air.” Former Fox News primetime star Megyn Kelly, now hosting the third hour of NBC’s Today show, also joined in, calling Bee’s remark “disgusting” and called hypocrites thoe media outlets that “gleefully” posted video of Bee’s segment without denouncing it. The Federalist’s Mary Katharine Ham, a regular conservative talking head on CNN, dipped that cable news networks toe into these waters very early this morning, during a segment about President Donald Trump’s latest tweet demanding an apology from Disney CEO Bob Iger. Two days earlier, Iger canceled Roseanne while apologizing to Valerie Jarrett over the racial slur directed at her by the show’s Trump-supporting star. Trump is “not entitled to apologies from new outlets just criticizing him,” Ham acknowledged. But, she pivoted abruptly, “you can recognize the racism of Roseanne, and that she should have been punished for it socially, and recognize that there is a double standard.” “Samantha Bee called Ivanka Trump a ‘feckless word-I-cannot-say-that-begins-with-a-‘c’-that-is-the-worst-word-you-can-call-a-woman’ on TV, and there will NOT be a nine-day news cycle about that,” Ham complained. On Wednesday night’s Full Frontal, Bee decried news the federal government’s Office of Refugee Resettlement, in 2017, had “lost” 1,500 migrant children. “Tearing children away from their parents is so evil, it’s the inciting incident in almost every movie we’ve ever cared about!” Bee said. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had announced that people trying to come into the country without documentation would be separated from their children. They would be “put into foster care or whatever,” as White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had described the plan. The practice actually pre-dates Trump, Bee noted. But it became big news recently as word of the number of lost children in ’17 became public. With headlines multiplying, Ivanka Trump, who works at the White House, tweeted a photo of herself and her infant son last Sunday. “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**t!’” Bee argued. “He listens to you! Put on something 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!” Bee suggested. Among CNN anchors weighing in on the Bee story before the White House issued its statement, Poppy Harlow called “way over the line…comedian Samantha Bee going after Ivanka Trump using an extremely vulgar term. The C word.” CNNMoney Senior Media Reporter Oliver Darcy chimed in, calling it a “really disgusting remark she made this in context of going going after Ivanka Trump for her father’s immigration policy.” “That said, it was obviously extremely crass and critics are rightfully upset, saying this is something that should not be used while discussing politics,” Darcy conceded. “Ever!” corrected Harlow. Harlow said Bee’s point about immigration and separating children from their parents got “completely drowned out” by her use of the slur. On the bright side, Darcy noted, people are definitely talking about Bee’s segment. They noted Bee has used the word on air before, but agreed this was a different sort of week, owing to ABC’s decision to pull its hit comedy series over Barr’s use of a racial slur in a tweet. Harlow wondered where “the lines” have gone. Darcy said there did not seem to be many lines any more. They left it at that. CNN did another segment on Bee’s slur soon therafter, this time accompanied by a banner that read: “Samantha Bee Shreds Ivanka Trump, Calls Her Ugly Slur” in case anyone wasn’t getting the message. That time, Dem strategist Keith Booykin said the point Bee was trying to make, about immigration, “got lost,” and that he did not know how others were responding to her segment. “It’s horrible…what she said was disgusting!” anchor Kate Bolduan shot back.<doc-sep>TBS Comedian Samantha Bee dropped a very specific expletive on Full Frontal Wednesday night, but despite online calls to TBS to cancel her show, the network took ownership of the controversy Thursday, saying "it was our mistake too, and we regret it." In a segment lambasting the Trump administration's handling of immigration, particularly the separation of children and parents at the US border, Bee called out Ivanka Trump for not speaking out against her father's policies. Bee referred to Trump's daughter as a "feckless c***." That disparaging term brought an onslaught of online criticism, reminiscent of what occurred with Roseanne Barr this week after a racist Twitter tirade resulted in ABC canceling her reboot show. Like Barr, Bee issued an apology on Twitter, saying "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." 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. — Samantha Bee (@iamsambee) May 31, 2018 Bee's Full Frontal tackles plenty of political stories, and she isn't afraid to drop cuss words in the pursuit of making a point. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called Bee's comments "vile and vicious" and said, "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 speak out but didn't say anything about canceling the show, which first debuted in early 2016. "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," said TBS, which has referred to Bee's series as a "buzz-generating, critically acclaimed show." 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. — TBS Network (@TBSNetwork) May 31, 2018 Full Frontal has a history of generating strong opinions from both liberals and conservatives. Fans of the show shared their support for Bee on Twitter, with Parks and Recreation actor Billy Eichner tweeting, "Honestly I think Samantha Bee was being generous." sigh. it was 100% appropriate. — Feckless Covfefe (@OpenIntro) May 31, 2018 Honestly I think Samantha Bee was being generous. — billy eichner (@billyeichner) May 31, 2018 Full Frontal sponsor Autotrader wasn't so forgiving. The car classifieds site pulled its sponsorship of the show, saying "the comments expressed by Samantha Bee were offensive and unacceptable and do not reflect the views of our company." Thank you to those who reached out regarding our sponsorship of Full Frontal. The comments expressed by Samantha Bee were offensive and unacceptable and do not reflect the views of our company. As a result, we have suspended our sponsorship of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. — Autotrader (@AutoTrader_com) May 31, 2018 Insurance company State Farm also suspended its advertising, says it's reviewing future ad placements, according to The Wrap. Credit card company Discover, however, has chosen to remain, saying on Twitter, "Our media buys consistently change and reflect the diverse content and audiences we serve. Editorial direction and content are created by the individual program. " Thank you for reaching out! As a national brand, our ads run on national broadcast, cable, digital, social, outdoor media, and just about everywhere in-between. Our media buys consistently change and reflect the diverse content and audiences we serve. Editorial direction... 1/2 — Discover (@Discover) May 31, 2018 Bee's use of the expletive and the ensuing conversation around it has been trending on Twitter all day, fueled in part by comparisons to the Roseanne situation. It's a perfect storm of politics, entertainment, social media and outrage. First published May 31, 1:08 p.m. PT. Update, May 31 at 3:04 p.m. PT: Adds to include sponsorship statements from State Farm and Discover. Culture: Your hub for everything from film and television to music, comics, toys and sports. Technically Literate: Original works of short fiction with unique perspectives on tech, exclusively on CNET.<doc-sep>
UPDATED with TBS apology: TBS had joined Samantha Bee in apologizing to Ivanka Trump after Bee called Trump a “feckless c**t” in a segment about President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. “Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump last night,” TBS said in a statement. “Those words should not have been aired. It was our mistake too, and we regret it.” Moments earlier, Bee issued her apology: 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. — Samantha Bee (@iamsambee) May 31, 2018 The apologies came not long after the White House issued a statement blasting Bee and TBS over Wednesday night’s edition, in which Bee called Ivanka Trump a “feckless c**t” in a segment about Donald Trump’s immigration policy. TBS pulled the video of that segment. Related Story White House Blasts Samantha Bee Over Ivanka Slur, Demands TBS Cancel Show “The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious. The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, inaccurately, in the White House statement. By the time Sanders’ statement was issued, CNN, the cable news network Donald Trump loves to hate, had done several segments blasting Bee’s remark. And NBC News’s Today host Megyn Kelly had called hypocrites any media outlet that “gleefully” posted Bee’s video the morning after savaging Barr for her racist tweet. Sanders’ statement continued: “[Bee’s] 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.” In the morning news cycle’s outrage, some cast Bee’s remark as worse than Barr’s, which was made in a late-night tweet. But Bee’s was scripted and the segment had been taped in advance, which meant many people working on the program had time to reconsider it. Although it mostly had been conservative critics blasting away at Bee this morning, even CNN peppered its morning news cycle with segments about the TBS late-night star’s comment. CNN and TBS both are networks of Time Warner, which is awaiting news as to the fate of its plans to merge with AT&T. “CNN is owned by Time Warner. This is a family issue, if you will,” CNN veteran John King acknowledged on air during one such segment. “Apologize. And the company – forgive me, I work here – but the company should say something too,” he added. CNN stopped short of the conservative rally cry for TBS to cancel her show, in much same way ABC cancelled Roseanne Barr’s comedy series this week after she compared former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to an ape in a tweet. On last night’s episode of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, the show continued to look at ICE’s immigrant abuse — namely, the 1,500 children that have been lost while in ICE’s care. As headlines about the unaccounted for children spread, Ivanka Trump, who is on the White House staff in addition to being First Daughter, tweeted a photo of herself with one of her children, Bee had noted. “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**t!’” Bee said in the now-pulled segment. “He listens to you! Put on something something tight and low cut and tell your father to f*cking stop it! Tell him it was an Obama thing, and see how it goes!” Bee suggested.