Jon Stewart is sick of the hypocrisy coming from Republicans.
During an episode of "The Weekly Show" podcast, the comedian slammed the right for their support of outwardly partisan late-night host Greg Gutfeld and their condemnation of recently fired Stephen Colbert for alienating half of his audience with his left-wing politics.
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"This is them trying to police and create rules that they would never follow," Stewart explained. "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. 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."
Despite being the top-rated primetime talk show on network television, Colbert's The Late Show was canceled by CBS. The talk series raked in a reported 2.42 million viewers between April and June. Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 1.77 million viewers, while Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, which airs on NBC, got 1.19 million viewers. By comparison, Gutfeld's Fox News program, which airs at 10 p.m. ET, averaged 3.29 million viewers in the second quarter.
Fox News/YouTube
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr — who runs the government agency that Paramount needed approval from for their merger with Skydance — publicly stated that "the partisan left's ritualist wailing and gnashing of teeth over Colbert" was "quite revealing" and appeared as if they were "losing a loyal DNC spokesperson."
Former late-night host Jay Leno recently spoke out against Colbert and his Democratic-leaning views. "I love political humor, don't get me wrong," the 75-year-old noted during a recent interview. "But why shoot for just half an audience all the time?"
CBS/YouTube
According to a report, since 2022, Colbert hosted 176 Democratic politicians and only welcomed one conservative.
Despite speculation, CBS and Paramount claimed their decision to end the 61-year-old's show was a "financial decision" rather than a political one. "Our admiration, affection and respect for the talents of Stephen Colbert and his incredible team made this agonizing decision even more difficult," the message from the network read. "Stephen has taken CBS late night by storm with cutting-edge comedy, a must-watch monologue and interviews with leaders in entertainment, politics, news and newsmakers across all areas. The show has been number one in late night for nine straight seasons, Stephen's comedy resonates daily across digital and social media and the broadcast is a staple of the nation's zeitgeist."