RNC aide: Samantha Bee ‘a hateful provocateur that should not be given a platform’

A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee slammed Samantha Bee on Friday, calling the comedian “a hateful provocateur that should not be given a platform.”

Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News that TBS’s decision not to reprimand Bee for a crude insult of Ivanka Trump has revealed a double standard in the media.

“Roseanne Barr loses her job, Samantha Bee stays and thrives,” McEnany said to “America’s Newsroom” anchor Bill Hemmer. 

“And not only that, think about this, Bill: These comments were scripted, they were edited and put in a teleprompter,” she continued. “The executive producer celebrated when the words trended on Twitter and TBS doesn’t seem to have a problem with it.” 

Bee, the host of “Full Frontal” on TBS, ignited a firestorm by calling Ivanka Trump a “feckless c—” on her Wednesday night broadcast. The White House has denounced Bee, and two major advertisers, Auto Trader and State Farm, have suspended advertising on the program. 

The comedian’s remark came as part of a broadside against Trump for sharing a photo over the weekend of her embracing her 2-year-old son.

“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.

Bee apologized the following day. 

“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,” the “Full Frontal” host said in a statement provided to The Hill’s “In the Know.” 

“It was inappropriate and inexcusable,” Bee added. “I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.”

On Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders condemned Bee’s remark and called on TBS to apologize, which it did later that afternoon. 

“The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious,” Sanders said in a statement. “[Bee’s] disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast, and executives at Time Warner and TBS must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of his administration will not be condoned on its network.”

The controversy over Bee’s comments followed the uproar earlier in the week over Roseanne Barr, who sent a racist tweet about a former aide to President Obama. ABC then canceled her show. 

Barr’s show had been previously praised by President Trump. He called to congratulate her after the reboot premiere drew more than 18 million viewers.