Don Lemon was the target of many Jon Stewart takedowns, but the CNN anchor never took it personally since he perceived Stewart as a comedian who simply fudged the whole story.
Stewart, who mocked Lemon for his adventures in CNN’s “Blizzard Mobile” and his infamous black hole question, was a “brilliant man,” Lemon told TheWrap. But the “CNN Tonight” anchor also feels like Stewart wasn’t a champion of context.
“It’s all fun, but sometimes it’s not so fun,” Lemon said. “What Jon Stewart can do is take clips and moments out of context and mold them into what he wants them to be when it’s unnecessarily so, and when you look at some of the things he has said about me and others, it’s really things that were taken out of context.”
Lemon said the key for victims of Stewart’s satire is to realize it’s “just a joke” and taking him that seriously isn’t wise. He pointed out Stewart has also praised him, so “if you can take the compliment you have to take the joke as well.”
Lemon took the joke, sending Stewart and his staff blizzards from Dairy Queen (which are delicious by the way).
“I think Jon Stewart is very talented and a brilliant man… I don’t want to overstate or understate what he means, but I think often times people who write about it–people like you–will sort of overstate the meaning of it when it’s all just kind of fun. He’s the first one to say, “Look, I’m a comedian.”
He also told the media punditerazzi to take a chill pill.
“It’s not like Jon Stewart’s passing away…I think Jon Stewart’s legacy remains to be seen.”
Stewart’s final episode airs Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central. Don Lemon hosts “CNN Tonight” at 10 p.m. ET.