Samantha Bee attends TV Academy Honors following controversy

Late night US host Samantha Bee attended the 11th annual Television Academy Honors while controversy surrounded her comments on Ivanka Trump.

The event was honouring several programs for advancing social change, with in Full Frontal recognised for its coverage of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movement.

Bee skipped the red carpet at the same time as the Academy uninvited the media from attending the ceremony, over what they called “a substantial increase in attending press” as a result of the Bee controversy.

Bee spoke at the podium saying, “Every week I strive to show the world as I see it unfiltered. Sometimes I should probably have a filter. I accept that. I take it seriously when I get it right and I do take responsibility when I get it wrong.”

She explained that she was trying to do right in her segment “on the atrocious treatment of migrant children by this administration and past administrations… Our piece attracted controversy of the worst kind.

“We spent the day wrestling with the repercussions of one bad word, when we all should have spent the day incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating people legally seeking asylum as criminals,” she said in her speech. “If we are OK with that then really, who are we?”

Meanwhile Donald Trump tweeted, “Why aren’t they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show?”

In the wake of ABC canceling Roseanne, Trump called the controversy with Bee “a total double standard” and added, “but that’s O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!”

Source: Deadline