Samantha Bee addresses Ivanka Trump insult in Television Academy Honors speech

(Image credit: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for TBS/Turner)

last updated 1 June 2018

Samantha Bee accepted a Television Academy Honors award Thursday night for Full Frontal's coverage of the Time's Up and #MeToo movements. And in her acceptance speech, Bee addressed the elephant in the room: her widely criticized use of the term "feckless c--t" to refer to Ivanka Trump on Wednesday night's show. Earlier Thursday, Bee apologized to Trump for her "inappropriate and inexcusable" comment, and TBS also issued a mea culpa: "Those words should not have been aired. It was our mistake too, and we regret it." White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested TBS cancel the show.

"Every week I strive to show the world as I see it, unfiltered," Bee told the audience at NeueHouse in Hollywood, according to a copy of the speech obtained by IndieWire. "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." She explained the context for her slur — the treatment of immigrant children by President Trump and previous administrations — and lamented that "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."

Bee circled back to the controversy when discussing the #MeToo pieces, applauding her writers and the women who stepped forward: "Leaders of the #MeToo movement are changing the world. And we are honored to stand with you and support you as best we can. There is power in saying what you feel without apology ... okay, and sometimes you also have to apologize." She thanked TBS: "You always have our back." The Television Academy disinvited the press Thursday afternoon from the post-awards reception, citing "today's events involving Samantha B.," and Bee and her Full Frontal crew skipped the red carpet.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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