Embattled TBS late-night host Samantha Bee is now insisting that she “handled it well” when hit with the backlash over calling White House advisor Ivanka Trump a “cunt.” But, Bee added that the “learning curve was steep.”
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bee commended herself and her staff for how well the fallout from her vile remarks was handled.
“The level of ferocity is something I hadn’t quite experienced up to that point, but I assume I’ll go through it again,” Bee said. “Maybe I’ll be better prepared next time. I think we handled it well, but it was a pretty steep learning curve.”
“It affected me a lot,” the comedienne also said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about it. We had a scheduled vacation around July 4, and it was a time of reflection.”
Bee stirred controversy on May 31 when she called Ivanka Trump a “feckless cunt” during an episode of her late-night show Full Frontal. Bee made her intemperate comment after the White House advisor posted to Twitter a photo of herself snuggling her son.
My ♥️! #SundayMorning pic.twitter.com/CN5iXutE5Q
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 27, 2018
But almost immediately her foul name stirred a social media firestorm that forced the comedienne to apologize for using the C-word.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night. It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it,” Bee later wrote.
I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night. It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.
— Samantha Bee (@iamsambee) May 31, 2018
Her TBS show faced an advertiser boycott in the weeks following the controversy.
Bee was in a celebratory mood during her Hollywood Reporter interview as her show, Full Frontal, was the recipient of a list of seven Emmy nominations, the most the show has ever received.
Despite the honors from her industry, ratings for her show remain very low. According to The Wrap, Bee’s Nielsen ratings are down 35 percent in the important 18-49 age demographic. Worse, she has lost a stinging 47 percent of her audience — nearly half — since 2017.
Her late-night show has also been shedding advertisers since her attack on Ivanka Trump.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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