Jon Stewart defends Samantha Bee, warns that "we mistake cultural power for power"

The Daily Beast

"They don't give a sh*t about the word 'c*nt,'" the former Daily Show host said of the White House's reaction to Bee, his longest-serving correspondent, calling Ivanka Trump a "feckless c*nt" on her Full Frontal show. Stewart made his comments Sunday night in a Q&A at Comedy Central's Clusterfest in San Francisco, where he seemed to imply that Bee shouldn't have apologized for using the C-word, according to The Daily Beast's Matt Wilstein. Stewart said there is nothing anyone can do to “make them give up this ‘We’re the real victims’ game,” because, “it’s a game, it’s a strategy, and it’s working.” Before that, according to Wilstein, Stewart spoke about feeling "oddly culpable" for perpetuating the notion that his nightly Daily Show monologues eviscerating the right had more power than they actually did. “We mistake cultural power for power," he said. According to Wilstein, Stewart said while he took “great cathartic satisfaction” in the segments he did on that show, he also recognized that “there is a corrosive thing that happens to you when your life is based on impotent rage.”

ALSO:

• Samantha Bee plans to address the "feckless c*nt" backlash on her show Wednesday
• Bee's Full Frontal executive producer Miles Kahn was proud that "feckless c*nt" was trending
• John Oliver alluded to Bee's controversy on Last Week Tonight, saying of Neil DeGrasse Tyson: "What is wrong with you, you feckless – oh, never mind, it’s not worth it. Bad idea"