Jon Stewart says Apple vetoed AI content on its show

American host and comedian Jon Stewart, known for The Daily Show, has revealed that he has been barred from talking about AI on Apple TV+. Stewart was hired by Apple in 2021, when he premiered the show The Problem with Jon Stewart, which had a more serious and documentary proposal. In 2023, citing creative differences, The Problem and the contract between the parties were canceled.

This revelation from Jon Stewart was given during this week’s episode of The Daily Show — a show he hosted again. In the episode, the comedian interviewed Lina Khan, president of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the American body responsible for investigating possible monopolies and antitrust practices. The agency’s work directly impacts the plans of Apple, Google, Facebook and other big techs.

In the words of the presenter, Apple said that artificial intelligence was a sensitive topic to be addressed. “Why are they so afraid to have this conversation in the public sphere?” According to Stewart, not even the 15-minute segment he did in the opening episode with Khan was cleared by Apple — the script for the frame was recycled from The Problem with John Stewart.

Khan’s program was also vetoed by Apple
In addition to revealing about the veto on the subject of artificial intelligence, Stewart took advantage of Lina Khan’s participation to say that Apple also banned an episode of The Problem podcast in which he wanted to interview her — the show had episodes in television format and a podcast complementing the theme, similar to what Fantástico, for example, does with some subjects.

“They literally said, ‘Please don’t interview her,'” Stewart said on The Daily Show. So far, Apple has not commented on the case — if at all. However, Stewart’s statements, if true, show that the “creative differences” that led to the cancellation of The Problem are linked more to “creative vetoes.”