Samantha Bee Says She Never Intended to 'Hurt Anyone Except Ted Cruz' in a Fierce Apology for Her 'Feckless C*nt' Remark

Samantha Bee is apologizing for a remark she says crossed a line — but she is not backing down.

Bee found herself facing a massive backlash last week after she called the President Donald Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, a "feckless c*nt." The White House denounced the comedian and said her show was "not fit for broadcast." The president said there was a double standard because Roseanne Barr's show had been canceled after she sent a racist tweet, but Bee's show has been allowed to continue.

Even many who agree with Bee's politics condemned her use of the word, though some comedians came to her defense when they believed the backlash — particularly from the Trump administration — had gone overboard.

"A lot of people were offended and angry that I used an epithet to describe the president's daughter and adviser last week," she said a the beginning of her show "Full Frontal" Wednesdays, the first episode since the controversy erupted last week.

"It is a word I've used on the show many times, hoping to reclaim it," she said. "This time I used it as an insult. I crossed the line, I regret it, and I do apologize for that. The problem is many women have heard that word at the worst moments of their lives. A lot of them don't want that word reclaimed; they want it gone. And I don't blame them. I don't want to inflict more pain on them. I want this show to be challenging, and I want it to be honest, but I never intended it to hurt anyone — except Ted Cruz."

She added: "Many men were also offended by my use of the word. I do not care about that."

But once she had gotten the clear apology out of the way, Bee turned back to the issue that had inspired her to use the word in the first place: Trump's policy of separating immigrant kids from their families.

"I hate that this distracted from more important issues," Bee said. "I should have known that a potty-mouthed insult would be inherently more interesting to them than juvenile immigration policy. I would do anything to help those kids."

"If you're worried about the death of civility, don't sweat it," she continued. "Civility is just nice words. Perhaps we should all worry a bit more about the niceness of our actions."