• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
MPWSamantha Bee

Samantha Bee Mocks Opponents of the Harriet Tubman $20

By
Christian Holub
Christian Holub
and
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Christian Holub
Christian Holub
and
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 26, 2016, 9:53 AM ET
Full Frontal
TBS: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee- rehearsalPeter Yang — Turner Entertainment Networks INC. A Time Warner Company.

The U.S. Treasury’s recent decision to replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman seems hard to contest, especially since it keeps everyone’s favorite Founding Father with a father on the $10 (that would be Alexander Hamilton). And yet, some commentators have decided to oppose the change, calling it “political correctness.” On this week’s episode of Full Frontal, Samantha Bee ran those opponents through a veritable meat grinder.

Talking about money (aka “Venmo for old people”), Bee pointed out that all seven current bills in production prominently feature white men, so why should anyone care if some white men’s feelings are hurt by seeing one of them replaced? Bee even took the opportunity to make a Lemonade joke.

“Look, I know that change is difficult,” Bee said. “I still haven’t gotten over Roseanne replacing the original Becky with Becky with the good hair.”

Sign up: Click here to subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.

Bee mocked Fox News commentators who called Jackson both a Founding Father (“the Revolutionary War happened before Old Hickory’s pubes came in”) and “a key member of America” (“it’s true, if you listen closely to ‘Ventura Highway’ or ‘Horse With No Name,’ you can hear key member Andrew Jackson playing tambourine”).

“He was not a Founding Father, he was a genocidal prick who forced the relocation of nonwhites and fomented populist rebellion,” Bee said of the controversial Jackson. “Kind of like a Trump with better hair.”

She also pointed out that conservatives were just recently angling for their own money substitution that would replace Ulysses S. Grant with Ronald Reagan on the $50 bill out of complaints that only 20th century Democrats are currently featured on currency.

“Look, I get it, we all want to jack off to our money,” Bee said. “That’s why we call it the trickle-down economy.”

Bee finished by mocking proposals to make Tubman her own bill instead of replacing Jackson. One citizen proposed a $12 bill … which, Bee was quick to point out, would make Tubman’s bill exactly three-fifths as much as Jackson’s.

“You know what, you’re right, this is so much simpler than just putting a black woman on the f—ing $20,” Bee said.

Watch the clip below:

About the Authors
By Christian Holub
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Entertainment Weekly
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in MPW

Workplace CultureSports
Exclusive: Billionaire Michele Kang launches $25 million U.S. Soccer institute that promises to transform the future of women’s sports
By Emma HinchliffeDecember 2, 2025
6 days ago
C-SuiteLeadership Next
Ulta Beauty CEO Kecia Steelman says she has the best job ever: ‘My job is to help make people feel really good about themselves’
By Fortune EditorsNovember 5, 2025
1 month ago
ConferencesMPW Summit
Executives at DoorDash, Airbnb, Sephora and ServiceNow agree: leaders need to be agile—and be a ‘swan’ on the pond
By Preston ForeOctober 21, 2025
2 months ago
Jessica Wu, co-founder and CEO of Sola, at Fortune MPW 2025
MPW
Experts say the high failure rate in AI adoption isn’t a bug, but a feature: ‘Has anybody ever started to ride a bike on the first try?’
By Dave SmithOctober 21, 2025
2 months ago
Jamie Dimon with his hand up at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit
SuccessProductivity
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says if you check your email in meetings, he’ll tell you to close it: ’it’s disrespectful’
By Preston ForeOctober 17, 2025
2 months ago
Pam Catlett
ConferencesMPW Summit
This exec says resisting FOMO is a major challenge in the AI age: ‘Stay focused on the human being’
By Preston ForeOctober 16, 2025
2 months ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Real Estate
The 'Great Housing Reset' is coming: Income growth will outpace home-price growth in 2026, Redfin forecasts
By Nino PaoliDecember 6, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Nvidia CEO says data centers take about 3 years to construct in the U.S., while in China 'they can build a hospital in a weekend'
By Nino PaoliDecember 6, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The most likely solution to the U.S. debt crisis is severe austerity triggered by a fiscal calamity, former White House economic adviser says
By Jason MaDecember 6, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says Europe has a 'real problem’
By Katherine Chiglinsky and BloombergDecember 6, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Supreme Court to reconsider a 90-year-old unanimous ruling that limits presidential power on removing heads of independent agencies
By Mark Sherman and The Associated PressDecember 7, 2025
17 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Big Tech
Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook for the metaverse. Four years and $70 billion in losses later, he’s moving on
By Eva RoytburgDecember 5, 2025
3 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.