Daily Show host Jon Stewart has been branded a hypocrite for failing to press the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times moments after ripping mainstream media for bending the knee to Donald Trump.
Stewart’s sit-down with Patrick Soon-Shiong came after a monologue in which the host slammed media companies who water down their content to avoid backlash from the Trump administration.
Before the interview, Stewart took repeated shots at CBS parent company Paramount Global, accusing executives there of operating out of fear in regard to late-night host Stephen Colbert’s firing.
Outraged Times staffers told Status that Stewart’s softball interview completely ignored Soon-Shiong’s track record at the paper, including a reported request from the billionaire that the paper’s editorial board ‘take a break’ from criticizing Trump.
The Times has seen several rounds of layoffs and other alleged attempts by Soon-Shiong to curry favor with the president.
None of those issues were raised by Stewart, angering Times staff already frustrated by what they see as pandering from an owner who pulled the paper’s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris.
‘Everyone is pissed,’ one staffer told Status. ‘The consensus is that Jon Stewart’s interview was awful. It seemed like he hadn’t read up on the guy.’
Another called Stewart’s approach ‘totally bizarre,’ given his reputation for needling guests.
Jon Stewart’s sit-down with billionaire Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong came after a monologue in which the host slammed media companies who water down their content to avoid backlash from the Trump administration
Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Times since 2018, is one of several media magnates who have been accused of bending the knee to Donald Trump
‘No questions about [Soon-Shiong] destroying LAT’s reputation? Nothing about his sucking up to Trump/RFK?’ the insider said.
‘Especially coming right after Stewart ripped Paramount, just baffling.’
Stewart didn’t broach the subject of Soon-Shiong’s false claim that his paper does not cover his pharmaceutical business, Status pointed out, noting that an undisclosed for his business was featured on one of the Times’ audio shows in March.
Status reported on speculation that Soon-Shiong – the inventor of a popular cancer drug – is looking for a clear path for future approval of more drugs.
During the conversation, Soon-Shiong also announced plans to take the Times public – a revelation that one angry staffer told Breaker Media served as an example ‘of the fly-by-night nature of how this paper is being run.’
‘This is indicative of everything with him,’ another reporter told Politico.
‘He doesn’t talk to us. He doesn’t have newsroom meetings. We only get a sense of what he’s feeling via Twitter rant or when he randomly decides to save some pocket change and fire 12 people.’
Immediately after the presidential election, a longtime Times columnist claimed that a piece for the editorial page’s opinion section that was critical of Trump had been spiked by Soon-Shiong.
Soon-Shiong was one of about a dozen wealthy executives, including Open AI’s Sam Altman and former First Buddy Elon Musk, who has lunch with Trump in Riyadh in May
Soon-Shiong acquired the Times in 2018, as part of a $500million deal. The past three years have been plagued by layoffs, the most recent of which saw at least 115 staffers in the newsroom let go in January
‘The consensus is that Jon Stewart’s interview was awful,’ one Times staffer said. ‘It seemed like he hadn’t read up on the guy’
The columnist and several others quit in protest.
Others accused Soon-Shiong of pulling the Harris endorsement because he ‘wanted to hedge his bets’ in case Trump won.
In February, Status reported on pushback against Soon-Shiong following an appearance on Dr. Drew Pinsky’s YouTube show, in which he offered repeated praise for Trump and was briefly challenged by the host over his paper’s coverage of him.
Other moves that have been met with pushback include Soon-Shiong hosting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s wife, Cheryl Hines, to the paper’s offices in February, for talks about a proposed right-leaning version of The View featuring far-right personalities like Candace Owens and Rob Schneider.
That same month, Soon-Shiong brought conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings onto his paper’s editorial board.
Soon-Shiong acquired the Times in 2018, as part of a $500million deal. The past three years have been plagued by layoffs, the most recent of which saw at least 115 staffers in the newsroom let go in January.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Stewart’s people for comment concerning his oversights.