Media have been banned from attending a Television Academy event where Samantha Bee was being honored just hours after she apologized to Ivanka Trump for calling her a ‘feckless c**t’.
Bee’s show Full Frontal was being recognized in Los Angeles on Thursday night by the Television Academy as one of the most ‘meaningful and relevant’ on the air.
But members of the press were told late in the afternoon that there had been a change of plans and they were no longer allowed access to the reception room.
A Television Academy representative confirmed that the decision was a result of today’s events involving Samantha Bee’, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Bee’s controversial comments about Ivanka had resulted in “the need to limit access to tonight’s activities’, the rep added.
Comedian Samantha Bee used the slur to describe Ivanka Trump on her TBS show Full Frontal on Wednesday night
Six other shows related to social change were also honored at the event, including 13 Reasons Why, One Day at a Time, Andi Mack and LA 92.
The academy had earlier said that the controversy over Bee’s language would not affect the comedian’s accolade.
It said its event is ‘non-political’ and that Bee’s recognition was for ‘her engagement in 2017 on the subject of sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement.’
Bee had apologized to Ivanka and viewers on Thursday for using the obscenity to describe the president’s daughter on her TBS show Full Frontal the previous night.
She used the slur towards the end of a segment about President Trump’s immigration policies as she urged Ivanka to speak to her father about systems that separate children from their parents.
‘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***,’ she said after showing a photo of Ivanka and her toddler son Theodore.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer led calls for Bee’s show to be axed after the comedian apologized to Ivanka Trump
Ivanka Trump shared a photo with her son Theodore on Instagram Sunday, which showed the mother affectionately holding her youngest child (above)
The incident quickly thrust Bee into the middle of the nation’s political divide with the White House slamming the comments as ‘vile and vicious’.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer also led calls for Bee’s show to be axed.
Spicer told TMZ that there was double standards given Roseanne’s show was axed after her racist tweets but Bee had yet to face disciplinary action.
Autotrader and State Farm both pulled sponsorship of Bee’s late-night comedy show on Thursday.
‘Thank you to those who reached out regarding our sponsorship of Full Frontal. The comments expressed by Samantha Bee were offensive and unacceptable and do not reflect the views of our company. As a result, we have suspended our sponsorship of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,’ Autotrader’s statement read.
State Farm also asked TBS to halt its advertising on the show.
‘We have asked TBS to suspend our advertising in the program and are reviewing any future placements. We constantly review programs to ensure alignment to our programming guidelines and brand values,’ the company said.
Bee, a former correspondent on ‘The Daily Show’ with Jon Stewart whose own show has been one of TBS’ big successes since it started in 2016, said that her language was ‘inappropriate and inexcusable’.
‘I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it,’ she said.
Bee used the slur towards the end of a segment about President Trump ‘s immigration policies
Before the apology, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called Bee’s language ‘vile and vicious’ and said executives at TBS and corporate parent Time Warner needed to demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of the administration would not be condoned.
TBS said Bee had taken the right step in apologizing.
‘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,’ the network said in a statement.
The network made no mention of any disciplinary action.
Coming two days after ABC canceled ‘Roseanne’ following a racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Bee’s remark was immediately seized upon by culture warriors.
Some conservatives upset about the ‘Roseanne’ cancellation suggested Bee should meet the same fate, while liberals wondered whether Bee’s words were any worse than some used by President Trump, notably in the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape.
Megyn Kelly was among those to hit out at Bee as she dragged Roseanne Barr into the debate.
‘This is disgusting. How is this acceptable? And how are we expected to take any of these publications seriously if they gleefully repost something like this at the same time they (rightfully) condemn @therealroseanne?’ wrote Kelly.
‘You know the saying Love is Love? Well Hate is Hate.’
Celebrities come out in support of Samantha Bee:
Samantha Bee may have apologized to Ivanka Trump after calling her a ‘feckless c**t’ but a number of celebrities have since come out in support of the comedian and some have even agreed with her controversial comments.
Fellow comedian Kathy Griffin and actress Sally Field were among the first.
‘Please do not be hard on @iamsambee for apologizing. While I was hoping she wouldn’t, I know first hand what it’s like being put through the Trump wood chipper..what she’s going through right now is crazy. All for a bleeped word. Comics held to higher standards than the president,’ Griffin tweeted.
Actress Sally Field also weighed in and even had a go at Ivanka herself, saying: ‘I like Samantha Bee a lot, but she is flat wrong to call Ivanka a c**t. C**ts are powerful, beautiful, nurturing and honest.’
Comedian Billy Eichner wrote: ‘Honestly I think Samantha Bee was being generous’.
Meanwhile some famous faces were quick to compare the controversy to that experienced by Roseanne Barr following her racist tweet scandal that resulted in her ABC show being canceled.
‘Ha! The White House today, still not denouncing Roseanne’s racism, tries to confuse the issue by going after Samantha Bee’s brilliant rant against Ivanka last night,’ filmmaker Michael Moore said.
High-profile attorney Lisa Bloom tweeted: ‘OK, but a white woman (Roseanne) invoking slavery-era racism about a black woman is miles away from a woman using the “c” word to insult another woman. Neither comic was ‘kidding,’ really. Sam’s point was true: Ivanka has not helped immigrant kids. Roseanne’s was a flat out lie.’
