Deep in Jon Stewart’s monologue on Thursday night was the first jab the host of “The Daily Show” has taken at the recent allegations of rape surrounding comedy giant Bill Cosby.
In a segment mocking Republican hypocrisy on property rights and energy company TransCanada’s notorious Keystone XL pipeline, Stewart turned a riff on land seizure into an open slam on Cosby.
“I mean, TransCanada can’t just lay pipe where it wants to without permission,” the host said. “It’s not Bill Cosby.”
The audience roared as Stewart briefly danced what appeared to be a vintage Cosby move and then moved on with the segment.
It was a big change in tone from last year, when Stewart interviewed Cosby and declared to the audience, “this man is the best.”
Watch the clip below, courtesy of Comedy Central:
Did he know about the allegations last year, how much of the jokes he says does he actually come up with and approve and how much of it is the writers and approved by the producers of the show or does John have final say?
Ouch. That’s gonna leave a mark.
Cracking wise about a guy facing a mountain of allegations he used his celebrity power to lure and sexually assault women at will was cringeworthy, and took away from an otherwise excellent monologue pointing out the hypocrisy of the Republican oil industry lackeys.
I think the allegations are actually that he used date rape drugs, and not his ‘celebrity power’.
Also though, I didn’t watch the clip. Making jokes about rape, even indirectly, is very murky waters. It may play well with most of an audience sitting in a room. But how that plays out on the Internet and outside of the context of that room make it a very dicey place for comedians to play.
Not sure what you mean about Stewart’s writers, unless you’re implying he didn’t write the Cosby joke.
But it’s a pretty good question regarding the timing: How could Stewart have not known about these allegations when he praised Cosby last year on his show? Eight or nine years ago, I read several women’s accounts of what allegedly happened to them, and the sight of Cosby since has made me cringe every time. This story may have blown up recently, but it’s nothing new, not by a long shot. I’m not sure if it’s just a comedian getting starry-eyed for a legend in his field or what, but it’s a pretty flagrant overlooking of a guest’s background.