Comedian Samantha Bee on Thursday apologized for calling Ivanka Trump the c-word on this week’s episode of her TBS TV show, after the insult drew backlash from the White House and pundits.
“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 said in a statement. “It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.”
During a segment on the Trump administration separating border-crossing kids from their parents on Wednesday’s “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” the host took aim at the first daughter for tweeting a photo of herself with her young son.
“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 segment, which TBS has since pulled from YouTube.
“He listens to you. Put on something tight and low cut, and tell your father to f–king stop it. Tell him it was an ‘Obama thing’ and see how that goes.”
The apology came after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders blasted the comment as “vile and vicious.”
“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 in a statement.
The vulgar remarks also got airtime on CNN, where anchors Poppy Harlow and Oliver Darcy both blasted Bee.
“Way over the line. Comedian Samantha Bee going after Ivanka Trump using an extremely vulgar term,” said Harlow. “The c-word. Incredibly offensive.”