Late night talk shows have been known to push the envelope with regard to what can and cannot be broadcast on television, and a certain comment from Full Frontal host Samantha Bee in a recent episode has her and network TBS in hot water. She used the C-word to refer to Ivanka Trump on the latest episode of Full Frontal. Bee was clearly going for laughs as well as trying to make a point with her comment, but not everybody is laughing. The day after the broadcast, Bee issued an apology to Ivanka Trump and viewers for dropping the C-bomb on TBS:
The comment that resulted in uproar in certain circles and Samantha Bee's subsequent apology came after Bee criticized Ivanka Trump with regard to her father's immigration practices, calling Ivanka Trump a "feckless cunt." As any TV viewers know, the C-word is not commonly heard on channels other than premium cable or movies, and the studio audience during the taping of the Full Frontal episode audibly gasped after Bee made the comment.
Samantha Bee's statement on Twitter indicates that she regrets dropping the C-bomb on television. While Bee never holds back from sharing her feelings on Donald Trump and his family's actions, she doesn't always use language the requires the bleep button in full force.
The bleep button was surprisingly silent in the video of the segment that was posted online. Folks who watched on the TBS site heard Samantha Bee say "cunt" when referring to Ivanka Trump, which likely helped spread the news all over social media throughout the day. TBS has since removed the video from its site. New York Times reports that Bee's comments -- including the C-word -- were scripted. Unsurprisingly, TBS is in some hot water as well. The network shared this on its official Twitter account shortly after Bee tweeted her apology:
While TBS didn't mince words in condemning Samantha Bee's use of the C-word, the network also admitted that it is also somewhat responsible for the comment hitting the airwaves. TBS' decision to openly state that the use of the word was the network's mistake as well as Bee's could be a sign that the network intends to stick with Bee and Full Frontal.
Given that this controversy has arisen mere days after Roseanne was cancelled due to leading lady Roseanne Barr's comments, some Full Frontal fans may have been nervous that controversy over Bee's comment could result in a similar fate for the TBS show. The comments from the two women are different and were shared in very different contexts, but TBS is already facing demands from certain social media users to cancel Full Frontal.
That said, Samantha Bee and Full Frontal are also receiving support from other social media users, so we'll have to wait and see what happens next. Stephen Colbert got away with some crude comments about Donald Trump back in May 2017 without losing his job as host of The Late Show, with the #FireColbert campaign ultimately coming to nothing. Only time will tell if Samantha Bee and Full Frontal face further consequences despite issuing apologies.
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee airs on Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. ET on TBS. If you're still in the market for other series now and in the coming weeks, check out our summer TV premiere guide and our Netflix premiere schedule.
