U.S. Lawmakers Ask Apple CEO Whether or not Jon Stewart’s Present Was Axed Due to Considerations Over China Commentary
Reps heading a particular committee of the U.S. Home of Representatives are questioning Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner about whether or not the tech big’s resolution to cancel Jon Stewart’s Apple TV+ discuss present was as a result of the host could have been planning an upcoming episode about China.
“Whereas firms have the appropriate to find out what content material is suitable for his or her streaming service, the coercive ways of a international energy shouldn’t be instantly or not directly influencing these determinations,” the leaders of the Home of Representatives’ Choose Committee on Competitors with the Chinese language Communist Occasion (CCP) wrote within the letter to Cook dinner, launched Wednesday.
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Information that “The Hassle With Jon Stewart,” from the previous “Day by day Present” host, would not return for a third season on Apple TV+ came out in October. Per the New York Times, Stewart advised workers members that potential upcoming subjects for the present together with China and synthetic intelligence “have been inflicting concern amongst Apple executives.”
The letter to Cook dinner, signed by committee chair Rep. Michael Gallagher (R-Wisc.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Sick.), the panel’s rating Democrat, stated, “If these reviews are correct, it probably speaks to broader considerations about oblique Chinese language Communist Occasion (CCP) affect over the artistic expression of American artists and corporations on CCP-related subjects. It additionally highlights an extra motive, past the historically cited nationwide safety rationales, why we encourage Apple to speed up its efforts to cut back its dependence on the PRC in its core enterprise.”
The reps requested rhetorically, “If Jon Stewart can probably be impeded from providing commentary on the CCP, what does this imply for much less outstanding personalities? Whereas there’s a likelihood {that a} high-profile particular person like Jon Stewart can find one other streaming service the place he can categorical his views on PRC-related issues, an aspiring comic who needs to make use of satire to make broader factors about human rights and authoritarianism faces even bleaker prospects. Respectfully, we imagine that this wants to alter and accountable artistic professionals ought to be capable to freely write and carry out on PRC-related subjects.”
Apple didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the letter. The Home reps’ letter requested a briefing from Apple on the matter by Dec. 15. A replica of the letter is obtainable at this link.
The letter added, “To reassure the artistic group in gentle of those reviews, we additionally respectfully request that Apple publicly commit that content material that could possibly be perceived as vital of the CCP or the PRC is welcome on Apple TV+ and different Apple companies.”
“The Hassle With Jon Stewart” debuted in 2021 on Apple TV+ as a part of a multiyear first-look deal Stewart signed with Apple. Season 1 of the present aired episodes each two weeks, whereas the second season switched to a weekly format. The one-hour sequence explored a single subject with every episode, with every subject being a part of present nationwide occasions in addition to Stewart’s advocacy work. Subjects had included racism, globalization, the media, local weather change, mass incarceration and gun management.
Stewart’s present for Apple TV+ marked his first TV venture to make it to air since he departed Comedy Central’s “The Day by day Present” in 2015. He had beforehand arrange a deal at HBO below which he deliberate to create a topical short-form animated sequence amongst different tasks, although that was in the end scrapped.
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