Samantha Bee Regrets Calling Ivanka Trump the C-word Because It Took Attention Away From Family Separations
Full Frontal host Samantha Bee is revisiting the controversy she ignited last May when she called Ivanka Trump a “feckless cunt” over her lack of response to President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, which separated migrant children from their parents.
In a new interview with The Daily Beast, Bee now explains that she has some regrets abut how the moment unfolded—primarily because the comment diverted attention from the subject of those family separations.
“I was very regretful that that moment really took away from what I was trying to say with the segment. And the segment really effectively disappeared, you can’t find it anymore. That’s really a shame, because the subject matter was really important to me,” she said, adding later, “I felt like it did a disservice to the [separated] families. Not that we would expect to have a huge impact on them, but I felt that anything that took away from that story, which is so critical and an ongoing story that continues on to this moment, I felt terrible.”
In the segment, Bee noted Trump’s silence around the border crisis, showing an Instagram photo the First Daughter posted with her son—something many people criticized as being tone-deaf. (Trump often touts her commitment to women and children as part of her role in White House.) Bee then looked into the camera and addressed Trump directly: “Let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices, you feckless cunt. He listens to you!”
The use of the C-word drew intense backlash, with some insisting that Bee had gone too far. But Bee also sparked a discussion about the implications of the word and the complicity of Trump, who serves as an advisor in the President’s administration. Later, Donald Trump even got involved, shooting off a tweet in which he wondered why Bee hadn’t lost her job. “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!” he wrote.
Bee, who eventually issued an apology to Ivanka Trump, described the entire experience as “unpleasant,” particularly the moment in which she was singled out by the President. “It definitely unleashes a different kind of beast into your life when the President specifically tweets about you, so that was a bit new. As a person, it’s helpful for me to keep the show small in my brain,” she said.
Still, Bee is moving past it. She’s taking a break as she prepares for a new season of her show, which is going to get an updated look with a new set. “I think we’re ready to take up more space in the world and so why not have a set that reflects that,” she said.