Jon Stewart clarifies Apple TV+ 'didn't censor' him, says there's no ill will over show cancellation
"The deal is I get to do what I want until they think it's going to hurt their beer sales."
Jon Stewart is sharing more insight on his headline-making departure from Apple TV+, clarifying that he was not censored during his two seasons hosting The Problem with Jon Stewart.
The comedian and political commentator appeared on Matthew Belloni's The Town podcast this week to speak more on what led to the dissolution of the show, noting that there are no hard feelings.
"They didn't censor me, it wasn't free speech," Stewart said. "When you work for a corporate entity, that's part of the deal, even at Comedy Central. The deal is I get to do what I want until they think it's going to hurt their beer sales or whatever it is that they want to sell, and that's the deal we all make. Nobody is owed a platform, and when you're in somebody's house and they want you to take your shoes off, you take your f---ing shoes off or you go to somebody else's house."
Apple TV+
Jon Stewart hosting 'The Problem With Jon Stewart'Stewart also acknowledged the "very challenging content environment," adding, "Imagine starting a content company. You have no IP. You literally have no IP. There is no Marvel universe. There is no Star Wars. There's nothing. And you can't buy libraries." Comparing Apple TV+'s strategy to antiquities shopping, Stewart said, "I was in antiquity that they thought had some value that they bought, and then they brought it to their beautiful boutique museum that is Apple TV+ and didn't realize somehow it had been cursed by an Egyptian pharaoh when he shut the door.”
It was a solid first two seasons, but Stewart recalled things going "south" after he welcomed economist Larry Summers. The two were in the midst of a discussion about federal trade interests and profits when Summers pointed out Stewart's employment with Apple, leading the host to acknowledge the corporation's role in the monopolization market. (Apple is currently involved in an antitrust lawsuit with the Justice Department.)
“We play the interview for the audience. They explode like we just hit a three-pointer at the buzzer," Stewart recalled. “The show ends, we go downstairs, and we are in full Rudy mode . . . and the Apple executives walk into the dressing room afterwards with a look on their face, and I was like, oh my God, did the factory explode? Like, what happened? And they go, are you going to use that Summer thing?”
The ordeal that followed made Stewart realize their "aims" didn't align. "It's when I realized, I'm not sure I can win here. We had done an interview on a guns episode and an episode on gender, and everything made them very nervous." As season 3 approached, “I realized we're not going to be able to do the season that we planned, and everything was going to be a fight," Stewart said, later making it clear that he had no malice against the company. “They are well within their rights.”
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Stewart has since returned to his Daily Show roots as a guest host. He previously made headlines when he claimed that Apple discouraged him from interviewing Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan amid the Justice Department's antitrust case.
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