Jon Stewart Implies Apple TV+ Censored Him: ‘They Didn’t Want Me to Say Things’

In a very 2000s-y twist, starting this week, Jon Stewart is returning to his old haunts at The Daily Show every Monday night following Apple TV+’s cancelation of his short-lived show, The Problems With Jon Stewart. I admittedly didn’t watch Stewart’s Apple TV+-facilitated resurrection, though I glimpsed samplings of him confronting transphobic government officials on the show via social media. After two short seasons, the show was canceled in the fall. And ahead of his (second) Daily Show debut, Stewart had some words for Apple TV+’s treatment of him.

On CBS Mornings on Monday, Stewart said he’d been hopeful about what season 3 of The Problem could look like going into this year’s election. “I very much wanted to have some place to unload thoughts as we get into this election season,” he said. But “they [Apple TV+] decided, they felt that they didn’t want me to say things that might get me in trouble,” though he didn’t get into specific details. Stewart also described the streamer as “a television enclave, very small” and “like living in Malibu.”

Apple TV+ didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Jezebel about Stewart’s comments—but depending on what Stewart has in store for us Monday night, we might get some hints.

Stewart, who hosted The Daily Show full-time from 1999 to 2015, will only be hosting once a week through the presidential election in November. But The Hollywood Reporter reports he’s also serving as an executive producer and is set to stay on board in this capacity through at least 2025, which I imagine gives him more decision-making power over his coverage than he had at Apple TV+. The Daily Show has been rotating guest hosts since former host Trevor Noah abruptly left the show at the end of 2022.

Also on CBS Mornings, Stewart described his outlook on hosting duties, which was… interesting. Stewart remains recognized as one of the greats in political satire, credited with shaping the politics of younger generations who grew up watching him and mobilizing many to get involved politically. Yet he didn’t seem particularly hopeful that his Monday night shows are going to change the world this time around. “As far as influence… just about everything I had wanted to happen over the 16 years that I was at The Daily Show did not happen, if you were hoping for influence. And I think I’ve learned that post-Daily Show … I don’t really view it as ‘I really want to have an influence on this issue, this election,’ things like that,” he said. Instead, he sees his role as “a catharsis and a way to comment on things and a way to express them that hopefully people will enjoy.” Stewart has previously (sarcastically?) described political satirists as “the destroyers of men and creators of empires.”

In any case, I’m undeniably intrigued by what Stewart has in store for us 25 years since he first started at The Daily Show—all the more so if it includes insights and takedowns that, as he put it, Apple TV+ was afraid to air.