Jon Stewart says Apple once asked him not to have Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan appear on a podcast linked to his Apple TV+ show.
Stewart made the comments during Monday’s episode of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which featured Khan as a guest. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence and the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon.
Stewart told Khan he had previously tried to have her appear on the podcast linked to “The Problem With Jon Stewart” to discuss AI but that Apple essentially blocked the move.
“They literally said, ‘Please don’t talk to her,’ having nothing to do with what you do for a living,” Stewart said. “I didn’t think they cared for you, is what happened.”
Stewart also suggested Apple tried to limit some of the content on his podcast. He said the iPhone maker wouldn’t let him do a skit shown earlier in the episode that mocked some of the promises of AI.
“Like, what is that sensitivity? Why are they so afraid to even have these conversations out in the public sphere?” he asked Khan.
Stewart has previously spoken out about the abrupt cancellation of “The Problem” in October, telling CBS that Apple didn’t want him to say things that might get him into “trouble.”
The presenter returned in February to “The Daily Show” to host on Mondays in 2024 after departing in 2015.
The comments come as Apple faces a major antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department. It’s accusing Apple of illegally maintaining a monopoly in the smartphone market by “delaying, degrading, or outright blocking” rivals from competing.
The suit blamed Apple for Amazon’s and Microsoft’s phone failures and zeroed in on Apple’s green text bubbles.
The complaint also claimed that Apple’s dominance in the market could be harmful to speech.
The tech giant has said it plans to “vigorously defend” itself and claimed a win for the department would set a “dangerous precedent.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside normal working hours.
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