Comedian Samantha Bee ended her scathing monologue on the White House’s immigration policies during Wednesday night’s edition of “Full Frontal” by lobbing the c-word at Ivanka Trump.
“Ivanka Trump, who works at the White House, chose to post the second most oblivious tweet we’ve seen this week,” joked Bee, displaying on screen a picture posted Sunday by the first daughter. “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–t!”
“He listens to you,” Bee added. “Put on something tight and low-cut and tell your father to fucking stop it. Tell him it was an Obama thing and see how it goes.”
Calling another woman the c-word is an interesting way for Bee to practice her feminism.
Good comedians thrive on deftly stirring controversy, and Bee will probably enjoy the inevitable outrage from centrists and conservatives as a sign of her success. To be clear, she knew exactly what she was doing. Why be outraged at a comedian for being mean to a White House adviser when the White House is tearing families apart, her defenders will argue. Expect to hear the line that the rules of feminism are suspended when it comes to women who (allegedly) don’t support other women as well.
But Bee may have been able to pull this whole routine off more effectively if her act weren’t so ardently and sanctimoniously feminist. It makes her worldview look incoherent, her politics feel insincere, and her comedy fall flat.
