Jon Stewart says Apple told him not to interview FTC chair Lina Khan

Stewart told Khan: “I wanted to have you on a podcast, and Apple asked us not to do it.”

“They literally said, ‘Please don’t talk to her’ – having nothing to do with what you do for a living,” he added, to laughs.

Apple abruptly canceled the eight-episode third season of The Problem with Jon Stewart last October, after tension between Stewart and Apple over which topics would be featured on the show, particularly with regard to China. Stewart balked at being “hamstrung” by Apple, which threatened to cancel the series if they weren’t “aligned” on topics, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Stewart then reportedly walked away from the show rather than cede creative control. Apple did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Joe Biden nominated Khan, who is 35 years old, for the post in part for her public criticism of big tech; while working for a House sub-committee, Khan wrote a 449-page report calling for the breakup of large tech companies, including Apple, that she compared to Gilded Age monopolies.

The US justice department, meanwhile, filed a sprawling anti-trust lawsuit against Apple last month, accusing the company of pursuing a “broad, sustained, and illegal” monopoly of the smartphone market and thwarting innovation to maintain market dominance.

Of specific note: Stewart's podcast was on AppleTV so Apple owned it. Apple was trying to censor and silence any potential criticism of them on their platform. Which is scummy, but expected.

5 comments

Stewart told Khan: “I wanted to have you on a podcast, and Apple asked us not to do it.”
“They literally said, ‘Please don’t talk to her’ – having nothing to do with what you do for a living,” he added, to laughs.
Apple abruptly canceled the eight-episode third season of The Problem with Jon Stewart last October, after tension between Stewart and Apple over which topics would be featured on the show, particularly with regard to China. Stewart balked at being “hamstrung” by Apple, which threatened to cancel the series if they weren’t “aligned” on topics, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Stewart then reportedly walked away from the show rather than cede creative control. Apple did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Joe Biden nominated Khan, who is 35 years old, for the post in part for her public criticism of big tech; while working for a House sub-committee, Khan wrote a 449-page report calling for the breakup of large tech companies, including Apple, that she compared to Gilded Age monopolies.
The US justice department, meanwhile, filed a sprawling anti-trust lawsuit against Apple last month, accusing the company of pursuing a “broad, sustained, and illegal” monopoly of the smartphone market and thwarting innovation to maintain market dominance.
Of specific note: Stewart's podcast was on AppleTV so Apple owned it. Apple was trying to censor and silence any potential criticism of them on their platform. Which is scummy, but expected.
Thanks for this. I haven't watched the last couple episodes of The Daily Show where Jon specifically hosted. Mainly just forgot tbh. But I've been wondering when he would open up more on exactly what happened over at Apple, and this fills in a few of the details.
Thanks. I'm definitely gonna have to watch this episode later.
- It's a solid watch, for sure.
Usually when I invoke the “Leopard ate her face” trope, I am expecting, but not rooting for, the leopard.
In this case…
I mean come on, what did you expect? If you truly want full creative control, shacking up for exclusivity with a mega corporation isn't it.