Samantha Bee enjoyed the biggest spotlight of her career during her profanity-laced gala dubbed "Not The White House Correspondents Dinner." And that’s a crying shame.
The former Daily Show contributor hosts Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, TBS’s weekly assault on all things conservative. The media elite adores her, which has helped her career ascent. She’s arguably the loudest critic of the Trump era, too. So everything she does or says is celebrated in media circles.
If Bee savaged Democrats the way she attacks Republicans the press would treat her like an infection that just won’t heal. At best. Instead, reporters fawned over her “Not the White House Correspondents Dinner” performance. Yet in many ways Bee is a corrosive element in our culture. Here’s why:
1. She Is Wildly, Unbelievably Partisan
Even Stephen Colbert will occasionally tweak the left on The Late Show. It doesn’t’ happen often, and he appears uncomfortable doing it. But he does it all the same.
And that’s to his credit.
On some instinctual level, Colbert realizes he risks losing some audience members if he’s 100 percent progressive. When was the last time Bee “destroyed” anything on the left? The unsteady ramblings of Rep. Maxine Waters? The latest news showcasing just how awful President Barack Obama’s Iran deal truly was? The insane comments coming from the mouths of Hollywood stars?
Nope. It’s all about smiting any politician with an “R” next to his or her name. Period.
2. She’s Unrelentingly Cruel
It’s no accident that Full Frontal mocked a cancer patient a few weeks back. The show’s creative team scanned the crowd at the recent CPAC event, eager to mock anyone the show’s staffers saw. In the process Bee called Kyle Coddington, a young man suffering from stage-4 brain cancer, a “Nazi” based on his unorthodox haircut. Bee later apologized and made a puny contribution to the man’s GoFundMe site ($1,000).
That’s hardly an isolated act of cruelty.
Bee repeatedly slams Christians, inferring they are racists and considers such bits “pure pleasure.” Has she ever criticized Muslims for how they treat women and gays? Please share some links in the comments below if she has.
And she once called Justice Antonin Scalia an “obstructionist ass” shortly after his death.
3. She’s a Hypocrite
Bee called Sen. Ted Cruz a “fish-faced, horses*** salesman” on the very first episode of Full Frontal.
She’s also mocked the appearance of other politicians, like Sen. Mitch McConnell (“a chinless dildo”). Yet when her own network cheekily compared Hillary Clinton to a hyena she came out fighting. Sadly, the network relented and pulled the “hyena” tweet. Still, the hypocrisy remained for all to see.
For what it’s worth, she recently referred to President Trump as “pint of flat orange Fanta.”
4. She Won’t Defend Free Speech
Part of the Bee-led celebration supported both free press and free speech. The former is under attack under President Trump, she fears, even though the administration is but 100-plus days old. Remember how she sat on her hands while President Obama serially slammed Fox News, stonewalled on FOIA requests and targeted journalist James Rosen, among other acts?
Lately, she’s been remarkably quiet on the attacks on free speech happening across America. The latest situation, which involves conservative speaker Ann Coulter, has yet to draw a serious public rebuke from Bee. A good faith Google search yielded nothing on the terms “Samantha Bee” and “Ann Coulter.”
Why? Doesn’t Coulter have First Amendment rights? What does Bee think of Howard Dean’s declaration that “hate speech” is illegal? Will she mention any of the above on a future episode of “Full Frontal?” If not … she’s a free speech coward.
5. Her Empowerment Facade
Bee, like her fawning friend Lena Dunham, is all about empowering women. Only Bee is afraid of her own Twitter account.
“When I really felt a geyser of hatred was the day after the election — actually, the night of the election. I checked my Twitter mentions, and it was one of the last times I’ve checked it. I just went off. I just went dark.”
Her “hyena” defense of Clinton smacks of her faux empowerment shtick, too. If Clinton wants to swim with the sharks, which is exactly what it means to be a part of the national political scene, she’ll get bit now and then. Whining about it is hardly empowering. It’s just the opposite, in fact.
6. She’s Full Of It
What would Full Frontal look like had Hillary Clinton emerged victorious last November? Here’s what she told the press:
We looked forward to holding President Hillary Clinton’s feet to the fire. We were so excited about that. We thought, “We’ll be able to tell a diverse range of stories. This will be so interesting. We’re not going to let up on her. We want her to be president.” But we don’t see anyone as the messiah. It’s not like she wouldn’t have failures and make terrible mistakes and do things we wouldn’t like.
To paraphrase Bee herself – bull***. If there is an honest soul out there who believes Bee on this matter, we’ve got a bridge to sell you.
How can we say that? How often does she target Democrats these days? Did she “destroy” President Obama during his last year in office?
A comedian with a sense of justice would double down on President Trump. How could you do anything else, given his persona? He or she also would balance out the material with slams against the other party.
And Bee once referred to herself as an “independent.” Really.
Her brand of comedy – divisive, mean and often phony – is exactly what the nation needs less of right now.
