Is Jon Stewart lashing out at his staff? One report says he’s taking his ratings-related frustrations out on the staff of The Problem with Jon Stewart. Gossip Cop investigates.
‘Raging Jon’s Problem: His New Show’s A Dud!’
Per the National Enquirer, Stewart’s new Apple TV+ show is dead in the water. He’s reportedly lashing out at his staff because his ratings are so bad. To make matters worse, Stewart’s late-night rivals are apparently laughing behind his back. A source says, “Jon’s not the satirical star he used to be, and the ratings reflect that—and he’s mad as hell.”
Temper tantrums are supposedly becoming increasingly common as Stewart copes with a damaged ego. “He doesn’t understand it. He was a hit on The Daily Show,” a source says. It doesn’t help that Jimmy Fallon, James Corden, and Stephen Colbert are all laughing at his misfortune. “They think Jon’s too woke and doesn’t appeal to mass audiences,” the insider says. Stewart is used to being the center of attention, the snitch concludes, so he’s not taking his new spot nicely.
What’s Going On With Jon Stewart?
Yes, Jon Stewart’s ratings are far lower than Stephen Colbert or Jimmy Fallon. That has nothing to do with Stewart but everything to do with Apple TV+. The burgeoning streaming platform is in radically fewer homes than CBS or NBC.
Stewart himself has commented about his ratings on his show: “You’re probably just going to look at aggregated clips of it somewhere, on YouTube, where you pirate Ted Lasso. You don’t even know how to get Apple TV, do you?” He’s well aware of the limits of his platform.
Gossip Cop seriously doubts Corden, Fallon, and especially Colbert are mocking Stewart. Colbert owes much of his career to Stewart and has featured him on the Late Show numerous times. Stewart is a living legend who just bagged the Mark Twain Prize for humor. He can ride that high for some time.
Furthermore, this is all just speculation. Like most streaming platforms, Apple TV+ does not release its ratings. EW reports that it’s the top unscripted series on the platform, so that’s something at least. Even in its prime, the Daily Show never came close to sniffing the ratings of Jay Leno or David Letterman strictly because of the limits of cable. Streaming is even more limited, so this whole angle is just plain ignorant.
Rating Stories Abound
The Enquirer is quick to cite sagging ratings whenever it wants a hit piece. It claimed The View would not get political because ratings were low. This obviously didn’t happen. It claimed Gayle King was getting forced out of CBS Mornings over low ratings, but she was just re-signed for big money. Numbers never tell the whole story.
