Samantha Bee has a message to the Aziz Ansaris of the world: If you say you're a feminist, act like a feminist.
The "Full Frontal" host tackled the rising #MeToo backlash on her show Wednesday night and explained how the defense of Ansari against recent allegations of sexual misconduct fits into the narrative.
"Yes, the inevitable backlash to the #MeToo movement has arrived," said Bee in her monologue. "Or as I like to call it, the #YouTooLoud movement."
Bee pointed out that "all women have done throughout the four months of the #MeToo movement is try to protect other women," but somehow people have taken that to be an attack against men. Because, as Bee sees it, men cannot understand that it isn't actually about them.
She took particular offense to the #MeToo denouncers who have suggested women are somehow equating "rape and harassment and bad dates" _ and yet, "literally nobody is saying they're the same."
"What many fail to understand is that it doesn't have to be rape to ruin your life, and it doesn't have to ruin your life to be worth speaking out about," said Bee. "Any kind of sexual harassment or coercion is unacceptable."
Bee then tore into those defending Ansari against the recent allegations made against him by categorizing it merely as "a bad date."
"We know the difference between a rapist, a workplace harasser and an Aziz Ansari," said Bee. "That doesn't mean we have to be happy about any of them."
Bee explained how people like her had to deal with a lot of terrible things in order "to build the world we now enjoy."
"And part of enjoying that world is setting a higher standard for sex than just 'not-rape.' And women get to talk about it if men don't live up to those standards, especially if that man wrote a book about how to sex good," she said, referring to Ansari's book "Modern Romance."
"Men, if you say you're a feminist, then ... like a feminist," Bee continued. "And if you don't want to do that, take off your ... pin, because we are not your accessories."
