Andrew Sullivan Dunks on Jon Stewart For Report on Small Audience After Their Clash Over Race
Writer Andrew Sullivan dunked on comedian Jon Stewart for his Apple TV+ show reportedly garnering a paltry number of viewers.
“Crashed to 40,000 viewers by the fifth episode,” Sullivan tweeted on Monday, in a post that included a link to a New York Post piece about the show, The Problem with Jon Stewart. The Post said the show, based on a Bloomberg report about its audience, appears to be “a flop.”
Crashed to 40,000 viewers by the fifth episode. https://t.co/Br1qsTugVd via @nypost
— Andrew Sullivan (@sullydish) April 18, 2022
Sullivan’s tweet comes weeks after he clashed Stewart on the show during a discussion on race in America.
Sullivan argued that white supremacy is not baked into America’s institutions, and that to claim otherwise minimizes white supremacy.
“Andrew, you’re not living on the same f*cking planet we are, honestly,” said Stewart.
“You are not living on the planet most Americans are,” retorted Sullivan. “Which is why this kind of extremism, this anti-White extremism is losing popular support, is creating a backlash, is gonna elect Republicans, and undo a lot of the good you think you’re doing.”
Sullivan and Stewart exchanged words online after the segment, and the feud laid dormant — until Bloomberg reported this:
Last fall, about 180,000 U.S. homes saw the show’s first episode within the first seven days, according to the measurement firm Samba TV. By the fifth episode, which aired in early March, about 40,000 U.S. homes tuned in, down 78 [percent] from the season premiere. …
Stewart declined to comment, though the magazine Entertainment Weekly said the show is the No. 1 unscripted series on Apple TV+, citing sources. To date, Apple hasn’t disclosed any viewership numbers for Stewart’s show, which since its debut has aired on a sporadic schedule. …
Apple TV+’s head of unscripted and documentaries, Molly Thompson, defended Stewart’s show.
“We are thrilled that The Problem with Jon Stewart has resonated with viewers all over the world,” she told Bloomberg. “The series has sparked complex conversations about critical issues, and we’re proud to team with Jon for season two and beyond.”
