John Stewart on “The Daily Show”; (Source: Comedy Central video)
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After initially saying his split from Apple TV+ was amicable, Jon Stewart has now revealed that the company was blocking topics and even guests he wanted to cover on “The Trouble with Jon Stewart.”
Jon Stewart said very little when Apple TV+ canceled The Trouble with Jon Stewart in October 2023, and it wasn't until February 2024 that he mentioned anything. He said at the time that the show was canceled in part because Apple “didn't want me to say things that would get me in trouble.”
Now he has accused Apple of specifically blocking two things he wanted to do in his series and accompanying podcast. He did so during an interview with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Lina Khan on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, in an episode that began with a sketch about artificial intelligence.
“I wanted you to be on the podcast, but Apple asked us not to,” he told her. “They literally said, 'Please don't talk to her.'
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“They didn’t even let us do that the stupid thing we just did in the first act about artificial intelligence,” he continued. “Like, what kind of sensitivity is this? Why are they so afraid to even bring these conversations into the public sphere?”
In an interview with Khan, he asked about the Federal Trade Commission and its role in combating antitrust actions of large corporations, acting individually or jointly. “I think it just shows the danger of what happens when you concentrate so much power and decision-making in a small number of companies,” she said.
At the time of the cancellation, there were rumors that AI and China were topics that concerned Apple. Although Apple has not confirmed this, the rumors led the House Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party to demand Apple justify the cancellation.
Five months have passed, and it is still unclear whether Apple has responded to this demand.
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