Jon Stewart Says Apple Told Him Not To Interview FTC’s Lina Khan
Comedian Jon Stewart said that Apple Inc. told him not to interview antitrust enforcer Lina Khan when he was still working for the iPhone maker, which now faces a suit from the Department of Justice.
(Bloomberg) -- Comedian Jon Stewart said that Apple Inc. told him not to interview antitrust enforcer Lina Khan when he was still working for the iPhone maker, which now faces a suit from the Department of Justice.
“I wanted to have you on a podcast, and Apple asked us not to do it,” he told Khan during an interview on . “They literally said, ‘Please, don’t talk to her.’”
Before returning to Comedy Central’s this year, the comedian served as host and executive producer of the Apple TV+ streaming series It aired for two seasons, from 2021 to 2023, and there have been reports that it was canceled over disagreements between Stewart and Apple.
A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
US antitrust enforcement is shared by the Federal Trade Commission, which Khan oversees, and the Justice Department. The latter agency sued Apple last month, accusing the technology giant of violating the law by blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features on its devices. The case followed a five-year probe into the iPhone maker.
US lawmakers Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, sent a letter last year to Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook about the decision not to produce a third season of series. They cited a New York Times report that said topics related to China and artificial intelligence caused concern among Apple executives.
In the interview with Khan on Monday, Stewart said that AI was another topic Apple didn’t want him to talk about. “Why are they so afraid to even have these conversations out in the public sphere?” he said.
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