Samantha Bee vows to continue ‘Full Frontal’ mission following controversy
SAMANTHA Bee accepted an award on Thursday night for her talk show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” — the same show that the White House has implicitly called on TBS to cancel.
But Bee isn’t going down without a fight.
The comedian defended her show at the Television Academy Honours held at NeueHouse in Los Angeles on Thursday night, a day after she made a vulgar comment about first daughter Ivanka Trump that went viral.
After issuing a formal apology for the R-rated remark earlier on Thursday, Bee once again addressed her misstep during her acceptance speech for “Full Frontal,” which was honoured for its coverage of the Time’s Up and Me Too movements.
“Every week I strive to show the world as I see it, unfiltered,” she said, according to IndieWire. (The event was closed to press but IndieWire was provided the speech by “a source.”) “Sometimes I should probably have a filter. I accept that. I take it seriously when I get it right and I do take responsibility when I get it wrong.”
The comedian then added that her misstep is overshadowing more important issues - such as Trump’s immigration policy.
“We spent the day wrestling with the repercussions of one bad word, when we all should have spent the day incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating people legally seeking asylum as criminals,” she said.
Bee vowed to continue her mission of calling out perceived wrongs through comedy, saying, “As long as we have breath in our bodies and 21 minutes of airtime once a week ... we as a show will never stop shouting the inhumanities of this world from the rooftops.”
Earlier on Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement, “The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious” and added, “Her disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast.”
Then, early Friday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted, “Why aren’t they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show?”
Every week I strive to show the world as I see it, unfiltered. Sometimes I should probably have a filter. I accept that. I take it seriously when I get it right and I do take responsibility when I get it wrong. — Samantha Bee, comedian