Samantha Bee apologizes for calling Ivanka Trump an expletive

"I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it," she tweeted.

May 31, 2018, 8:19 PM

Samantha Bee has issued an apology for using an expletive to describe first daughter Ivanka Trump on her show last night.

The "Full Frontal" host, who referred to Trump as a "feckless c---" during her taped broadcast, tweeted that she went too far with her segment, during which she implored Trump to persuade her father, President Donald Trump, to change his immigration policies.

Critics have slammed the late night host for using such a vulgar term on the air; show sponsors State Farm and AutoTrader have suspended their advertising.

"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," Bee tweeted Thursday. "It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it."

Added TBS, the network that airs Bee's show, in a tweet of its own: "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."

Bee's comment came at a point in her show when she was criticizing the Trump administration's policy of separating parents and children who have tried to enter the United States without proper documentation. Citing a photo Ivanka Trump shared to Instagram several days ago featuring her holding her young son, Bee slammed the first daughter, who works in the White House, as "oblivious."

"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," she continued. "Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to f------ stop it. Tell him it was an Obama thing and see how it goes."

Ivanka Trump, 36, has not yet responded to Bee's comments or her apology, though White House press secretary Sarah Sanders addressed the controversy on Thursday. Calling Bee's language "vile and vicious," Sanders also took aim at TBS' parent company, Time Warner.

"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," she said.

Some Twitter users have likened Bee's comments to those made by "Roseanne" star Roseanne Barr earlier this week, when, during a Twitter tirade, she compared former Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett to "Planet of the Apes." Though Barr later apologized and deleted the racist tweet, Channing Dungey, the president of ABC Entertainment, released a statement condemning the comedian's words and announced that ABC had canceled her show.

"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," Dungey stated.

Others, however, have been quick to delineate between the two comments, noting on social media that that Bee's use of a vulgarity differs greatly from Barr's tweet, which references a racial slur. They also have stated that President Trump has famously used foul language in the past, too.

ABC Entertainment and ABC News are both part of parent company Disney.

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