Did Apple Fire Jon Stewart At The Behest Of China?

Apple announced last month that Jon Stewart would not return to its Apple TV+ streaming service, despite already investing resources into an upcoming season.

Stewart reportedly informed staffers of the decision to cancel The Problem, citing that the company tried to interfere with his planned coverage of China.

It's unclear whether Stewart or Apple made the call to move ahead with the project.

Did Stewart quit over Apple hindering his journalistic integrity? If so, that would be admirable.

Or did Apple cancel his show for daring to challenge its communist business partner? Did Apple pull the plug on Stewart at the behest of the CCP?

House lawmakers sent a bipartisan letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook to find out, understanding Apple is inherently compromised by the fact that China represents nearly a fifth of its sales.

"On Wednesday, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) penned a letter to Cook asking that he explain why the company will no longer host the show on its AppleTV+ streaming service," according to Fox News.

Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Ranking Member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. each signed the letter, urging Apple to provide lawmakers with a briefing by a December 15 deadline

"If these reports are accurate, it potentially speaks to broader concerns about indirect Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence over the creative expression of American artists and companies on CCP-related topics. It also highlights an additional reason, beyond the traditionally-cited national security rationales, why we encourage Apple to accelerate its efforts to reduce its dependence on the in its core business," the letter stated.

You'd think Stewart would eventually discuss the circumstances that led to his departure.

Then again, he was under contract -- for a lot of money -- and a potential NDA could hinder his ability to reveal any more details than what he told his staff -- that "there was a disagreement."

The letter also asks Apple to make a public commitment that it would allow content critical of the CCP on the platform.  

Apple TV+ has mostly relied on scripted programming, such as Ted Lasso, but has vowed to focus more on talk programming moving forward.

Luckily for Apple, it may not have to decide. After all, most hosts wouldn't mind shutting up on the topic of China for the right paycheck. Most already do.

To his credit, Stewart has rarely, in his career, shied away from topics that run afoul of corporate preferences.

Jon Stewart was one of the first left-leaning voices to uphold the theory that COVID-19 originated from a lab in Wuhan, which the U.S. Energy Department has since declared the most likely origin.

Jon Stewart on Apple.

But Stewart also had more leniency to do so at Comedy Central because of the Daily Show's success. At Apple, Stewart struggled to attract subscribers.

His show averaged just around 40,000 viewers, according to Samba TV measurements. That was, to use the name of his show, a problem.

Thus, Apple likely calculated the upside of a partnership with Stewart would not justify the risk of alienating China.

That isn't to justify Apple kowtowing to a communist regime. But it's context. And why I suspect it was Apple who made the call not the move forward.