Jon Stewart laid into the media coverage of the hantavirus outbreak, accusing reporters of “treating it like the O.J. [Simpson] chase.”
The comedian weighed in on the recent hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius during Monday’s monologue for “The Daily Show,” where he emphasized that the illness was not set to start another global pandemic — despite certain sensationalized reports suggesting otherwise.
“I know we don’t have to be hysterical about it. It’s a choice. But you know what? It’s a relief. I’m glad we don’t have to be hysterical about it,” Stewart noted after playing the first initial reports about the hantavirus, explaining how the disease wasn’t like COVID-19. “COVID was a respiratory virus, passes easily, often when the person isn’t symptomatic. It was a brand new virus we had never seen before, and we weren’t allowed to know where it came from. I mean, we didn’t know. We were obviously allowed to know. We just didn’t know. Wink.”
He continued: “While the hantavirus is a known virus, it’s difficult to transmit. It’s mostly spread by rat infestation, which does raise the question. How did a cruise ship end up with hantavirus on it?”
After poking fun at the origins of the outbreak, which stemmed from a couple who went bird watching at a rat-infested landfill, Stewart declared: “The point is, some people may get pretty sick, but forget COVID. This ain’t no pandemic. Hell, this hantavirus ain’t even in monkeypox territory.”
Yet, Stewart bemoaned that “reality don’t sell papers,” noting that despite learning the truth on Tuesday, media coverage continued to sound the alarm over the illness.
“You gotta fight for your right to be nervous,” Stewart said. “Yes, we might have a right to be nervous, but I guess the question the news might want to ask is, do we have a reason? And your assignment, news, should you choose to accept it, is to help the public discern the difference. So may we hear from the experts again?”
He added: “Sunday we found out hantavirus had been on a cruise ship. Monday through Thursday, expert upon expert, scientist upon scientist, very transparently explained why this illness, while a serious illness, is a low-level public health threat. Their words went a long way to easing the concerns of a curious public. And Lord knows the news can’t let that happen.”
At this point, Stewart played footage from “Nightline,” which presented the hantavirus outbreak as “a floating nightmare” and posed the question: “Could this become the next pandemic?”
“The question of whether it was going to be the next pandemic had been asked and answered for three days,” Stewart noted. “But apparently, that was before the authorities decided not to fire a torpedo and sink the cruise ship, burying its diseased passengers and cruise entertainers in a watery grave befitting their disease. That’s right, folks. These people from this ship were going to be allowed to disembark.”
The late night host then ripped into the play-by-play coverage that followed the disembarkment, noting, “They were treating it like the O.J. chase … That’s the logistics of how you get from a boat to the f–king shore.”
“Drone video?! Spectacular! Such good use of drones,” he went on. “Ukraine uses theirs to defeat Russia, but good on you. I still have not learned enough. I mean, I know they’ve gone from a boat to a smaller boat to a tent to a bus, but at this point, I’ve somewhat lost the trail. Where will it end?”
Stewart then roasted a NewsNation reporter for asking the same question over and over again regarding the Hantavirus, despite getting the same answer every time.
“No matter how many times the question can be asked and answered, it doesn’t f–king matter for some people. And sometimes, it’s the same person,” he said. “Jesus, lady. How badly do you just want to work from home? Just work from home. We’re not all going to die. That’s a good thing.”
Watch the full monologue above.
“The Daily Show” airs weeknights at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.
