Why Didn’t The Daily Show Air the ‘Vile Sh*t’ Fans Said In Its Infamous Redskins Segment?

Posted by | November 3, 2014 22:10 | Filed under: Contributors Opinion Politics Tommy Christopher Top Stories


If you’re wondering how it is that the Washington Redskins’ team name change is even still a debate, you’re not alone. Pressure on the team has been steadily mounting this year, and one of the most compelling pressure points has been a September segment from The Daily Show, which featured fans of the team duly explaining the hardship that a name-change would be for them, and being confronted by a group of Native Americans who oppose the name.

Even before the segment aired, it was controversial, as the fans complained to The Washington Post that they were surprised by producers, who they say sprang the confrontation with activists on them. One of the fans even said she felt “in danger,” and tried to file a police report days later. When the segment aired, Stewart addressed that report in the intro, saying, “If we find out that someone in a piece was intentionally misled, or if their comments were intentionally misrepresented, we do not air that piece, we would not air that piece. So with that being said, I hope you enjoy the following piece.”

It was a seemingly defiant and ballsy response to carping by people who, in that very segment, explicitly said they “need to be sitting down and talking to the people who actually are offended.”

Yet it was obvious, from watching that segment, that much was left out, and in a recent interview with New York magazine, Jon Stewart confirmed that what made it to air was missing some significant material. Asked if he was wrong to ambush the fans, he replied…READ MORE

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Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Tommy Christopher

Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

8 responses to Why Didn’t The Daily Show Air the ‘Vile Sh*t’ Fans Said In Its Infamous Redskins Segment?

  1. tracey marie November 3rd, 2014 at 22:17

    just get rid of the name, times change, racism is rejected and yes, the Indians do get the last word on why it is offensive

  2. tracey marie November 3rd, 2014 at 23:17

    just get rid of the name, times change, racism is rejected and yes, the Indians do get the last word on why it is offensive

  3. tiredoftea November 3rd, 2014 at 22:31

    Meh…

  4. tiredoftea November 3rd, 2014 at 23:31

    Meh…

  5. Pistol-Packing AKA "Susie" November 3rd, 2014 at 23:18

    There not going to change the name. And if the news article is correct I read. About them suing the individuals who brought suit. As well as the legal strategy with the copyright and patent office is correct. They will never have to.

  6. Pistol-Packing AKA "Susie" November 4th, 2014 at 00:18

    There not going to change the name. And if the news article is correct I read. About them suing the individuals who brought suit. As well as the legal strategy with the copyright and patent office is correct. They will never have to.

  7. ChrisVosburg November 4th, 2014 at 00:59

    I guess I can see where this got into territory well beyond the purview of the show, and they cut the story when they did, and thus I am not surprised.

    Thing is, in fairness, if you show the part where it went off the rails, then in fairness you’d have to show the response, and then in fairness the response to the response, so the decision was made to not deliver to viewers the part where it went off the rails, and all thereafter, if for nothing else than to reaffirm the difference between the Daily Show and Jerry Springer.

    In interview after the fact, Jon acknowledges this with a rueful thing got weird, and I don’t think a whole lot else is required.

  8. ChrisVosburg November 4th, 2014 at 01:59

    I guess I can see where this got into territory well beyond the purview of the show, and they cut the story when they did, and thus I am not surprised.

    Thing is, in fairness, if you show the part where it went off the rails, then in fairness you’d have to show the response, and then in fairness the response to the response, so the decision was made to not deliver to viewers the part where it went off the rails, and all thereafter, if for nothing else than to reaffirm the difference between the Daily Show and Jerry Springer.

    In interview after the fact, Jon acknowledges this with a rueful thing got weird, and I don’t think a whole lot else is required.

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