Jon Stewart said those who hate on Stephen Colbert for having a pro-Democrat slant on “The Late Show” are hypocrites who conveniently fail to criticize Fox News star Greg Gutfeld for sharing conservative takes on his nightly show.
“This is them trying to police and create rules that they would never follow,” Stewart said of Colbert’s critics.
Stewart, on the latest episode of his “The Weekly Show” podcast, included FCC Chairman Brendan Carr among those critics. Last week, Carr said “the partisan left’s ritualist wailing and gnashing of teeth over Colbert” was “quite revealing” and came across like they were “losing a loyal DNC spokesperson.”
“The Late Show,” since 2022, has featured 176 Democratic politicians and only one Republican, the New York Post reported.
That should not be an issue for Colbert’s haters, though, according to Stewart, because the “Gutfeld!” host is also transparent about which political party he prefers.
“You know, they all talk about, ‘Gutfeld’s’ the most popular [late night show]. Yeah. He’s not popular because he’s a both-sides guy. He’s not a fair use [host], like, the Fair Use Doctrine says; like, he’s relentless,” Stewart said.
He added: “And you know, after a day of watching Fox News and being bathed in their very purposeful propaganda, it’s a great way to top off the night.”
“The Late Show” was the top program in the CBS-ABC-NBC late night battle during the second quarter, averaging 2.42 million viewers between April and June. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” averaged 1.77 million viewers, and Fallon’s “Tonight Show” on NBC averaged 1.19 million viewers.
Gutfeld, meanwhile, whose show airs in primetime at 10 p.m. ET weeknights on Fox News, averaged 3.29 million viewers during the second quarter.
CBS canceled “The Late Show” in July and said Colbert’s politics had nothing to do with its decision — that it was purely a “financial decision.” Many prominent Democrats did not buy it, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who questioned whether Colbert’s canceling was tied to his criticism of his network President Trump.
Colbert’s critics, on the other hand, have said his show was canceled because it was losing tens of millions of dollars a year and had alienated half of the American public.
Stewart, during his podcast, also took a little dig at Jay Leno, after the ex-“Tonight Show” host questioned why any comedian would “shoot for just half an audience?”
“Why do you have to make jokes about things you actually think?” Stewart said while imitating Leno’s delivery.
Stewart’s comments came towards the end of his show where he answers questions from fans. You can watch the full episode below:
