Trump calls for comedian Samantha Bee's firing after crude Ivanka slur

By Jonathan Allen

 

Television host Samantha Bee poses at the 2017 Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S. September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/Files

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump called on Friday for comedian Samantha Bee to be fired after she made a vulgar comment about his daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump on her cable television program.

 

His remarks capped a week when a debate over the language used by two television stars became an unexpected proxy for the country's political divide, with Bee's liberal-leaning audience on one side, and fans of the sitcom "Roseanne" and its Trump-supporting star on the other.

 

On Tuesday, Walt Disney Co's ABC network canceled a revival of "Roseanne" after its star Roseanne Barr made a racist remark in a post on Twitter, comparing a former top Obama administration official to an ape.

 

Trump criticized ABC and Bob Iger, chief executive officer of Disney, on Twitter, but did not address the content of Barr's comments.

 

He took exception, however, to Bee's use of a crude term for the female anatomy to describe Ivanka Trump on her show "Full Frontal" on Wednesday, while discussing the president's controversial immigration policies.

 

"Why aren't they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show?" Trump said on Twitter on Friday. "A total double standard but that's O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!"

 

Both Bee and the TBS cable network, which airs the show, apologized on Thursday.

 

"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 on Twitter. "It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it."

 

Following Trump's remarks on Friday, Sal Petruzzi, a TBS spokesman, said there would be no further comment beyond the earlier apologies.

 

The show immediately faced a backlash from some advertisers.

 

State Farm Insurance said it had suspended its commercials. "We constantly review programs to ensure alignment to our programming guidelines and brand values," spokesman Jim Camoriano said in a statement.

 

Autotrader also suspended its sponsorship, calling Bee's comments "offensive" in a statement.

 

Trump's presidential candidacy was thrown into crisis in 2016 after a tape emerged of him boasting about being able to grab women by their genitalia because of his star status. He had made those comments as he waited to film a segment for the TV program, "Access Hollywood," in 2005.

 

Trump later apologized, calling it "locker room banter."

 

After "Roseanne" was canceled, the White House said the president would not defend Barr's comments but pointed to alleged media bias against the TV show, which portrays a working-class American family.

 

The program, which originally aired from 1988 to 1997, has drawn praise from Trump since its return. Its reboot featured Barr portraying a Trump voter facing off against her sister, an ardent opponent of the president, and tackled other issues reflecting America's political divide.

 

TBS is owned by Time Warner Inc, which is seeking to merge with AT&T Inc in a move opposed by the Trump administration. Disney is seeking to merge with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-06-02

She is another comedian that I don't much care for.   I've seen parts of her shows, but don't find her very funny.   

 

As far as firing her, I am not sure why.   She made a tasteless remark about a public figure.   That's pretty much fair game, IMO.   

 

Her remark isn't racist.   Crude, but not racist.

 

 

I don't much care for her show either. Don't see what makes her special.

 

Still, as an Aussie, if anyone used the 'Bomb Word' on my wife/mother/female family member, I would most likely get arrested for any action I would take. That word, well in my hometown, if used when as a young man, meant fists came out first and you would worry about consequences later. 

 

Times might have changed, but that word hasn't. 

I quite like her show; she has got a certain 'in your face!' appeal that I find funny. To each his own.

 

I would argue that while the two events are similar, they were not the same. Sam Bee's comment, while offensive, was simply offensive and the last time I looked there was no law against being offensive (other than good manners).

 

In Roseanne's case, using ISIS is more than offensive to me; saying that someone's parents were like ISIS people is rude as hell. That said, that alone wouldn't justify firing in my view. However, referring to a black person with the 'Ape' epithet goes into deep historical racism, something that has no place in today's public arena. To me, it does cross the line for its racist/historical elements and enters into Hate speech.

 

In sum, both were offensive, but the racism of Roseanne goes way too far in my book and deserves sanction.

 

By the way, thank you Donald Trump for lowering the public discourse to the level where we need to debate how offensive things are, rather than whether they are offensive or not. Further, if Donald Trump wants to condemn others for their comments, perhaps he should allow for an apology or two (or a hundred) for all the offence he has caused? Just sayin'

 

Unfortunately, I suspect that there will be more of these discussions...

 

Roseanne is train wreck and that has been her appeal. But it's hard to keep it up and she finally self destructed. It's a shame she has to be pinned onto a political movement. She was only trying to eek out a following among the Walmart crowd. Samantha Bee isn't funny and her show is boring. But she isn't the first person to use that word. It is up to the shows producers on who to hire and fire. If they can't do any better than her show, I guess she will stay. But she will probably have to keep up the blue humor now.

Overall I think the lack of quality television is the real story. Time for TV producers to up their game a little.

 

In which case, His Donaldness should be calling on his own firing for the slurs he rains down on others, and conduct unbecoming of a president. 

51 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

I don't much care for her show either. Don't see what makes her special.

 

Still, as an Aussie, if anyone used the 'Bomb Word' on my wife/mother/female family member, I would most likely get arrested for any action I would take. That word, well in my hometown, if used when as a young man, meant fists came out first and you would worry about consequences later. 

 

Times might have changed, but that word hasn't. 

As a Canuck, I have found Aussies to be the most liberal users of the "c-word" I have ever encountered... Bruces and Sheilas both!

18 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Roseanne is train wreck and that has been her appeal. But it's hard to keep it up and she finally self destructed. It's a shame she has to be pinned onto a political movement. She was only trying to eek out a following among the Walmart crowd. Samantha Bee isn't funny and her show is boring. But she isn't the first person to use that word. It is up to the shows producers on who to hire and fire. If they can't do any better than her show, I guess she will stay. But she will probably have to keep up the blue humor now.

Overall I think the lack of quality television is the real story. Time for TV producers to up their game a little.

 

The general consensus is that television is experiencing a golden age of creativity at the moment. Of course not everything will appeal to everyone, and there is still crap, but to claim there is a lack of quality programming since the Sopranos to the present is quite a stretch.

The most tasteless Donald Trump is one who should be fired from his position.    His comments have insulted and affected many people. I guess he has not been

recorded saying the words that he wants others fired for but he has said many other tasteless words. frick, P*ssy, curse words and other politically incorrect stuff.

6 minutes ago, mikebike said:

The general consensus is that television is experiencing a golden age of creativity at the moment. Of course not everything will appeal to everyone, and there is still crap, but to claim there is a lack of quality programming since the Sopranos to the present is quite a stretch.

I should have been more precise. you are right some of the TV being produced in the last decade had been the best television ever made. It is the American networks and not the, formerly known as cable companies, like HBO that are turning out low end TV. I don't know how to correctly distinguish between the two groups however. Surely people don't call them cable companies anymore.

1 hour ago, mikebike said:

As a Canuck, I have found Aussies to be the most liberal users of the "c-word" I have ever encountered... Bruces and Sheilas both!

Amongst friends, and a bit of banter, it is okay (or on a work site in harsh conditions).

 

Against family, etc. etc. in a serious format, it is not well taken. 

 

Aussies do swear a lot more then the average person. The 'f-word' is liberally sandwiched into most sentences to fill in words and make the sentences sound 'better' ... I suppose a different form of khrup and kaa ... lol

 

e.g - 'We went had had dinner with him' equates to 'We went and had dinner with the ****er'

 

 

Bee's show is just wall-to-wall anti-Trump and she speaks to a select audience who agree with her. Fair enough if that is your thing.

The one thing she can never be accused of however, is being funny. That is the greater sin.

It seems if you agree with Trump, then Trump should get fired. He has said similar things and used similar crude terms numerous times. Worse yet, he is not trying to be a comedian and stirring the political or social pot; or is he?

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

A total double standard but that's O.K.

Another quote by the Trump: double standard is OK, even a total one.

Trump is right . There is a double standard here , but she shouldn't be fired , and Roseanne's show shouldn't have been stopped. Bee's comment was on a cable show , Roseanne comment was on twitter , a difference that is overlooked.

I don't like Samantha Bee , however the show she is involved with : The detour , is very good (well most of the episodes).

https://deadline.com/2016/01/the-detour-samantha-bee-jason-jones-tbs-1201677818/#!

Edited June 2, 20188 yr by BuaBS

4 hours ago, Credo said:

She is another comedian that I don't much care for.   I've seen parts of her shows, but don't find her very funny.   

 

As far as firing her, I am not sure why.   She made a tasteless remark about a public figure.   That's pretty much fair game, IMO.   

 

Her remark isn't racist.   Crude, but not racist.

 

 

 

The clown has made many very tasteless / very insensitive remarks about other politicians.

 

 

 

Trump has used this word often, most recently when referring to Sally Yates.

 

This word was emblazoned in t-shirts, usually referring to Hilary Clinton, seen and sold at Trump rallies.

 

That said, Ms. Bee should not have used it, or it should have been bleeped.

 

Trump seems to bring out the worst in everyone these days.

1 hour ago, totally thaied up said:

The 'f-word' is liberally sandwiched into most sentences to fill in words and make the sentences sound 'better' ...

And there was me thinking it was so the slower brain could be kept loosely in sync with the yap.

14 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Trump has used this word often, most recently when referring to Sally Yates.

 

This word was emblazoned in t-shirts, usually referring to Hilary Clinton, seen and sold at Trump rallies.

 

That said, Ms. Bee should not have used it, or it should have been bleeped.

 

Trump seems to bring out the worst in everyone these days.

It's just another manifestation of his incredibly this, tissue-like skin.

 

Any Queenslander's remember when the eminently unlikable Joh Bjelke-Petersen was your Premier? His wife's name was Flo. On his last election rodeo, the t-shirts circulated by his antagonists loudly but subtly proclaimed, "Flo has one but Joh is one!"

The "C" word is an Australian term which denotes the highest possible praise especially on close friends and people you admire.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander as Roseanne was fired for the same insulting speech. 

3 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

What's good for the goose is good for the gander as Roseanne was fired for the same insulting speech. 

It wasn’t the same. 

I think Samantha B was spot on with her comment but sad to see public discourse sink to such a level 

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

Trump has used this word often, most recently when referring to Sally Yates.

 

This word was emblazoned in t-shirts, usually referring to Hilary Clinton, seen and sold at Trump rallies.

 

That said, Ms. Bee should not have used it, or it should have been bleeped.

 

Trump seems to bring out the worst in everyone these days.

Quite right.  I made the mistake of posting a photo of the said T-shirt which referred to Hillary Clinton.  Apologies for that!

Bee's show is scripted and all the lines are approved by content editors and producers well in advance of the show's taping.  Don't tell Bee that it's okay to deliver a line and then fire her for it when it goes badly.

Short term memory loss in effect here I seem to remember Ted Nugent calling Hillary that same exact thing and he got invited to the white house Oh when the shoe is on the other foot

Sent from my SM-J250F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I think this latest episode clearly shows that Trump has a special soft (or perhaps hard) spot for his daughter, as he's often illustrated in his past public comments about her.  I guess she's just lucky she was never a contestant in one of Trump's beauty pageants, or who knows what might have happened!

 

https://forward.com/schmooze/357185/7-creepy-things-donald-trump-has-said-about-ivanka/

 

And then:

 

Quote

Trump has no standing to bleat about celebrities who hurl ugly insults

Use that same vulgar, sexist slur to refer to Hillary Clinton, though, and you might get an invitation to the Oval Office to grip and grin with Trump. That’s what happened to right-wing rocker Ted Nugent, who was invited to dine at the White House in April 2017 in spite of (or because of?) his history of appalling remarks that included referring to Clinton as a “toxic (bad word Samantha Bee used),” a “two-bit whore” and a “worthless b----.”
......
Nevertheless, Trump featured Nugent at rallies and in campaign ads, then had him to the White House. And never, I might add, did Trump utter a remonstrative peep about the numerous T-shirts seen at his 2016 campaign rallies that referred to Clinton with the same particularly vulgar sexist slur that this week has him at least pretending to be in a lather.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-samantha-bee-ivanka-trump-word-0603-20180601-story.html

Edited June 2, 20188 yr by TallGuyJohninBKK

So should Trevor Noah get fired too?  Or perhaps receive an award. Truly cringe-worthy TV watching and reading Trump's various remarks here.

 

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/73fxht/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-don-t-forget--donald-trump-wants-to-bang-his-daughter

 

Edited June 2, 20188 yr by TallGuyJohninBKK

2 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Trump has used this word often, most recently when referring to Sally Yates.

 

This word was emblazoned in t-shirts, usually referring to Hilary Clinton, seen and sold at Trump rallies.

 

That said, Ms. Bee should not have used it, or it should have been bleeped.

 

Trump seems to bring out the worst in everyone these days.

 

Everything giveslicense to everything else. Yeah Trump "normalizes" that kind of speech for public consumption, but the fact is, most comedians these days pepper their acts with that kind of talk in lieu of actually coming up with anything funny to say.

 

Hey, I'm a sailor I can say the "F" word 7 times in a nine word sentence under certain circumstances. But there's nothing funny about it.

Trump trying to take control of his reality TV Presidency again.

 

What is a more horrible thing to say?

 

1. Samantha Bee calling Ivanka Trump a feckless **** .............When she was.............OR

 

2. On live TV, Trump being asked what is the thing that him and Ivanka have in common and he says "sex".

 

Now just which is more of a horrible thing to say to the "first only daughter" (he ignores the other one, probably because there was no sex).