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 His remarks capped a week when a debate over the language used
by two television stars became an unexpected proxy for the
country's political divide, with Bee's liberal-leaning audience
on one side, and fans of the sitcom "Roseanne" and its
Trump-supporting star on the other.
On Tuesday, Walt Disney Co's ABC network canceled a revival of
"Roseanne" after its star Roseanne Barr made a racist remark in
a post on Twitter, comparing a former top Obama administration
official to an ape.
Trump criticized ABC and Bob Iger, chief executive officer of
Disney, on Twitter, but did not address the content of Barr's
comments.
He took exception, however, to Bee's use of a crude term for the
female anatomy to describe Ivanka Trump on her show "Full
Frontal" on Wednesday, while discussing the president's
controversial immigration policies.
"Why aren't they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible
language used on her low ratings show?" Trump said on Twitter on
Friday. "A total double standard but that's O.K., we are
Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!"
Both Bee and the TBS cable network, which airs the show,
apologized on Thursday.
"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," Bee said on Twitter. "It was inappropriate and
inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it."
Following Trump's remarks on Friday, Sal Petruzzi, a TBS
spokesman, said there would be no further comment beyond the
earlier apologies.
The show immediately faced a backlash from some advertisers.
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State Farm Insurance said it had suspended its commercials. "We
constantly review programs to ensure alignment to our programming
guidelines and brand values," spokesman Jim Camoriano said in a
statement.
Autotrader also suspended its sponsorship, calling Bee's comments
"offensive" in a statement.
Trump's presidential candidacy was thrown into crisis in 2016 after
a tape emerged of him boasting about being able to grab women by
their genitalia because of his star status. He had made those
comments as he waited to film a segment for the TV program, "Access
Hollywood," in 2005.
Trump later apologized, calling it "locker room banter."
After "Roseanne" was canceled, the White House said the president
would not defend Barr's comments but pointed to alleged media bias
against the TV show, which portrays a working-class American family.
The program, which originally aired from 1988 to 1997, has drawn
praise from Trump since its return. Its reboot featured Barr
portraying a Trump voter facing off against her sister, an ardent
opponent of the president, and tackled other issues reflecting
America's political divide.
TBS is owned by Time Warner Inc, which is seeking to merge with AT&T
Inc in a move opposed by the Trump administration. Disney is seeking
to merge with Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey
in Washington and Gina Cherelus in New York; Writing by Jonathan
Allen; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Bernadette Baum)
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