20 biggest TV moments of 2018 we’ll never forget
By Sundi Rose
Samantha Bee calls Ivanka Trump a “feckless [expletive]” – Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
What happened: Samantha Bee won the talk show wars with her outrage over Ivanka Trump’s complacency concerning her father’s immigration policies. In May 2018, Bee launched into a bit of a tirade, criticizing the president’s actions over immigration. She got increasingly (and justifiably) angry, commenting about a picture the first daughter had posted on her Instagram.
Ivanka Trump shared a picture of her and her daughter, striking a harsh contrast to the treatment of immigrant children separated from their parents. Bee then implored, “Let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices, you feckless [expletive]!” Doubling down, she went on to snark, “He listens to you! Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to [expletive] stop it.”
Why it’s important: Despite its vulgar language, it was a milestone in free speech and protest rhetoric. It was a bold, albeit off-color, criticism of an administration that has been working hard to undermine the mainstream media, if you can call TBS “mainstream.”
The backlash was swift, yet Bee wasn’t cagey about issuing a straightforward apology. She technically said she was sorry, but she told The Daily Beast that her apology was “not offered as a concession to their demands [on the right], at all.” Moreover, she said, “It was offered in a very specific manner and I don’t regret putting it out there. I think it was the right thing to do.”
We should all have such courage to stand up when we see injustice, even if you wanna use more G-rated language.
How to watch it: Unfortunately, TBS has pulled the episode from almost every conceivable watching source, but you can catch the clip, and its varied reactions, on YouTube.