Entertainment
Jon Stewart talks to 'Daily Show' podcast about returning to host: 'It's not just the election'
Jon Stewart will make his much anticipated return to “The Daily Show” on Monday night — a weekly hosting gig he will continue through the election in November.
The comedian hasn’t said much publicly about what lured him back to basic cable nearly a decade after he said goodbye to “The Daily Show” in 2015. But ahead of his Comedy Central homecoming, Stewart sat down with “The Daily Show: Ears Edition” podcast to talk about what drew him back to the job and how much has changed in the intervening years, from the transformation of the media landscape and the existential threat of artificial intelligence to the improved quality of the snack offerings at “The Daily Show” offices.
The Times has the full podcast episode exclusively; it will be widely available Monday.
In conversation with showrunner and executive producer Jen Flanz and writer/co-executive producer Zhubin Parang, Stewart says his decision to come back to Comedy Central was motivated by more than just the presidential election and the likely rematch between President Biden and former President Trump.
“If you want to be present in this world, you have to be present in this conversation and you have to be as relentless and as tenacious as the counter-narrative that’s being formed. So much of the information that we see now is weaponized … and it keeps taking exponential leaps,” says Stewart, who will also serve as executive producer of “The Daily Show” through 2025, and potentially beyond. “It’s not just the election. It’s AI. It’s the way that we’ve militarized all our conflicts. It all ties together to one larger idea, which is the form of government we love so much is an analog — I don’t want to say dinosaur — but it is analog and the world now moves at an increasingly infinite digital pace and reconciling those two things, I think, is the challenge of the moment for people.”
Stewart took over as host of “The Daily Show” from Craig Kilborn in 1999, and transformed the quirky late-night show into a destination for incisive media criticism and political satire. His Apple TV+ show “The Problem With Jon Stewart” premiered in 2021 and was canceled last fall — reportedly amid creative tensions with Apple.
In “Ears Edition,” Stewart tells Flanz and Parang he feels compelled to remain in the conversation in order to combat the effects of artificial intelligence and other bad actors on social media.
“I’m excited to be with you guys again and the best f—ing news team and to just be a part of that conversation because I think you have to register your thoughts and complaints so that it can be referenced,” he says, as a way to counteract AI, which he called “an information-laundering system, a vacuum that takes up all the pieces of human information then spits them out in reconstituted form.”
“If you want the world of the future to be informed by what you think is the right part of the present,” he says. “You have to register, you have to get it out there.”
“The Daily Show” has not had a permanent host since Stewart’s successor, Trevor Noah, signed off in late 2022. The late-night show won an Emmy for talk series last month, clinching a victory in a category that had long been dominated by another series from a “Daily Show” veteran, “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.” Stewart’s surprise return may help Comedy Central shore up one of its signature programs after a protracted period of transition.
In the podcast episode, Stewart also reflects on the changes to the media landscape since he stepped down as host nearly a decade ago — particularly the way that social media has come to act as an accelerant for conspiracies, disinformation and hate speech.
Compared to when he hosted “The Daily Show,” “It’s a much more dire situation,” he says, “but at least none of these social media entities have monetized that idea and incentivized misinformation because that would truly be truly dangerous. I’m really glad that they fight it so vigorously.”
Clearly, though much has changed in the last decade, Stewart’s sense of irony remains intact.
Entertainment
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested after grand jury indictment
Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested Monday in New York amid a federal sex-trafficking probe, officials said.
No details were immediately available about the charges against the hip-hop mogul and entrepreneur. A grand jury had been impaneled to investigate allegations.
Late Monday, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York issued a brief statement saying Combs was arrested “based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
Sources said Combs was arrested without incident at around 8:30 p.m. at a New York hotel, where he had been staying.
Law enforcement sources told The Times earlier this year that Combs was the subject of a sweeping inquiry into sex-trafficking allegations that resulted in a federal raid in March at his estates in Los Angeles and Miami.
In civil lawsuits, four women have accused Combs of rape, assault and other abuses, dating back three decades. One of the allegations involved a minor. The claims sent shock waves through the music industry and put Combs’ entertainment empire in jeopardy.
Combs has strongly denied any wrongdoing, and on Monday his attorney criticized prosecutors.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement. “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community.”
The attorney said Combs was “an imperfect person but he is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Homeland Security Investigations agents conducted searches on March 25 at mansions owned by the Bad Boy Entertainment co-founder as part of the federal inquiry into sex-trafficking allegations, law enforcement sources said.
The 17,000-square-foot mansion in Holmby Hills where Combs debuted his LP “The Love Album: Off the Grid” was flooded with agents, who served a search warrant and gathered evidence on behalf of an investigation being run by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the inquiry.
Combs’ legal troubles have been building for months.
Last week, Dawn Richard, the former Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money member and solo artist, sued Combs in New York, alleging sexual assault, harassment and inhumane treatment.
She alleged in the complaint that Combs groped her without her consent, falsely imprisoned her and deprived her and her bandmates of basic needs, and that “submission to his depraved demands was necessary for career advancement.”
Richard’s attorney, Lisa Bloom, said in a statement to The Times that “given Sean Combs’ brutal beating of his girlfriend caught on video and the eight people who have now accused him of abuse in court filings, including my brave client Dawn Richard, this arrest seems long overdue. It’s a big, moving day for victims, but an arrest is only the beginning. May justice be delivered to Mr. Combs. We implore other accusers to come forward in solidarity and join us in this fight.”
His former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, accused him of rape and repeated physical assaults and said he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes in front of him. Combs quickly settled a lawsuit Ventura brought against him last year. Months later, a 2016 video published by CNN showed Combs chasing, kicking and dragging Ventura at an L.A. hotel.
Another accuser, Joi Dickerson-Neal, said in a lawsuit that Combs drugged and raped her in 1991, recording the attack and then distributing the footage without her consent.
Liza Gardner filed a third suit in which she alleged Combs and R&B singer Aaron Hall sexually assaulted her. Hall could not be reached for comment.
Another lawsuit alleges that Combs and former Bad Boy label President Harve Pierre gang-raped and sex-trafficked a 17-year-old girl. Pierre said in a statement that the allegations were “disgusting,” “false” and a “desperate attempt for financial gain.”
After the filing of the fourth suit, Combs wrote on Instagram: “Enough is enough…. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
In the spring, producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a federal lawsuit against Combs accusing him of sexually harassing and threatening him for more than a year.
Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.
Movie Reviews
‘K-Pops!’ Review: Anderson .Paak’s Delightful Directorial Debut Hits All the Right Notes
BJ (Anderson .Paak) is an LA-based karaoke bar drummer, passionate about making it big with his original music. On a particular evening in 2009, he encounters Yeji (Jee Young Han), a punk emo girl who struggles to find a committed man in the city. They fall in love after a duet and dinner date at a Korean restaurant. They break up after a while because of his lack of involvement with her. 12 years later, the very confident BJ is still working at the same place with no prospects. His boss Cash (Jonathan “Dumbfoundead” Park) connects him to a new gig in South Korea as his great aunt’s drummer for the show she hosts, an American Idol-like competition for the next teen K-Pop star.
Cash tries to get BJ to meet Kang (Kevin Woo), the show’s heartthrob, and see if they can work together. While on the job, he’s rebuffed by Kang and winds up meeting one of the lowest projected contestants, Tae Young (Soul Rasheed, .Paak’s IRL son). When he sees Yeji for the first time in 12 years, he realizes that Tae Young is his biological son. In the wake of this discovery, BJ takes it upon himself to take Tae Young under his wing and teach him with his know-how about music outside K-Pop, putting the “Bla” in “Blasian”. With his skill, BJ makes every effort to turn Tae Young into a superstar.
Entertainment
Tito Jackson, original member of the Jackson 5, dies at 70
Tito Jackson, one of the original members of the seminal Motown group the Jackson 5, has died. He was 70.
Jackson’s death was announced late Sunday by his three sons. They did not disclose a cause of death for the late guitarist and background singer, but said they were “shocked, saddened and heartbroken.” Representatives for Jackson did not immediately respond Monday to The Times’ requests for comment.
“Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” sons Taj, Taryll and TJ said in a statement posted on Instagram. “Some of you may know him as Tito Jackson from the legendary Jackson 5, some may know him as ‘Coach Tito’ or some know him as ‘Poppa T.’ Nevertheless, he will be missed tremendously. It will forever be ‘Tito Time’ for us. Please remember to do what our father always preached and that is ‘Love One Another.’ We love you Pops.”
Jackson, born Oct. 15, 1953, as Toriano Adaryll Jackson, was one of seven siblings to the late King of Pop Michael Jackson, and of superstar Janet Jackson. He was among the founding members of the hit-making Jackson 5, which came together in the 1960s under the tutelage of domineering patriarch Joe Jackson, then caught the eye of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. After being introduced to the nation by Diana Ross, they put forth the beloved “bubblegum soul” singles “ABC,” “I Want You Back” and “I’ll Be There.”
Alongside brothers Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, the family group gave rise to the “Jacksonmania” that consumed the nation. The group was nominated for three Grammy Awards. The hitmakers were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. In saluting them at the ceremony, Gordy declared that the group gave “Black kids from the ghetto a license to dream.”
Jackson was the last of the nine Jackson siblings to release a solo project and was chided for having an insignificant role in the Jackson 5. Although he launched his solo career in 2003 as a blues musician, he made his official debut in 2016 with “Tito Time” and released “One Way Street” in 2017.
He told the Associated Press in 2019 that he he purposely held back from pursuing a solo career because he wanted to focus on raising his sons, who formed their own music group, 3T, and released the songs “Love One Another” with Stevie Wonder, “Anything” and “Stuck on You.”
“I took that sort of personal,” Jackson told AP, dismissing criticism from sports commentator Charles Barkley that he didn’t contribute enough to the Jackson 5. “I am not upset about it. But it just hurts in a way where I tried to do the right thing in life, you know, raise my sons as good young Black men who do the right thing by people.”
Jackson primarily raised his sons on his own after his ex-wife, Delores “Dee Dee” Martes, whom he wed at the age of 18 and divorced in 1988, died. While her 1994 death was originally ruled an accident, Donald Bohana — a businessman Martes dated for three months — was convicted of second-degree murder in her drowning in Ladera Heights. Bohana was sentenced to life in prison in 1998.
Days before his death, Jackson wrote on Instagram about visiting a memorial dedicated to Michael Jackson in Munich, Germany. He expressed his gratitude for “this special place that honors not only his memory but also our shared legacy. Thank you for keeping his spirit alive.”
In addition to his sons, Jackson is survived by his brothers Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Jackie, sisters Janet, Rebbie and La Toya and their mother, Katherine. Their father Joe Jackson died in 2018. His brother Michael Jackson died in 2009.
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