Samantha Bee had a harsh message for former Full Frontal guest Eric Schneiderman, who was the subject of a New Yorker investigation this week reporting that he had sexually abused or harassed four women, on Wednesday night: “You are trash and we do not need you,” she said as part of a minutes-long tirade against the former New York attorney general.
The public disavowal of Schneiderman comes five months after Bee called him “a hero who stood up to democracy’s nemesis before” and interviewed him in a November episode.
“Now, Schneiderman was a guest on my show, so this is a little complicated for me to talk about. Just kidding, it’s not complicated: Fuck you, Eric Schneiderman!” Bee said as an opener to a segment that “checked in” on men who were accused of sexual misconduct during the #MeToo movement, to applause. “The good legal work that you did does not absolve you. It will not give me not one second’s pause to tear you a new asshole on live television. I give zero fucks.”
Bee then addressed Scheiderman’s work on behalf of the domestic abuse of women and the prosecution of Harvey Weinstein, who faces dozens of sexual abuse and harassment accusations. “Eric Schneiderman, you are trash and we do not need you. Tarana Burke started the #MeToo movement 11 years ago on MySpace. It will keep moving without you just fine,” she said before pivoting to discuss other accused individuals, including Charlie Rose and Weinstein.
Later in the segment, Bee added as a kicker, “As for men like Eric Schneiderman, we really don’t need them. You know who’s a better advocate for women? Women.”
As of Wednesday, Bee’s November interview on YouTube with Schneiderman had been retitled “Former AG Tricks Sam Into Thinking He Was Decent” and the description contained an apology to viewers about characterizing him positively before Full Frontal’s team learned the former New York A.G. “was the vilest villain.” It added: “We’re keeping this piece online in the interest of integrity.”
In an explosive Monday story in The New Yorker, Schneiderman was accused of violence against women during sexual encounters, including choking and slapping partners and threatening to kill them if they left him. Hours later, Schneiderman denied the allegations of violence were true but resigned from his position.
On Tuesday a spokesperson for the Manhattan D.A. said the department would look into the claims in the story.
This article originally appeared in THR.com.