Jon Stewart Weighs In On The Louis C.K. Scandal And What He Could Have Done To Stop It

Last week a New York Times expose on Louis C.K. revealed that the comedian had allegedly behaved inappropriately with five different women. In light of this news, the comedian admitted that the expose was true and he had in fact engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior with these women. Now Jon Stewart, who is friends with Louis C.K., is weighing in on the news and sharing his thoughts on what he potentially could have done differently in the past to stop his friend’s bad behavior.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jon Stewart was stunned by the expose and what his friend has admitted to doing. While speaking to the Today Show on NBC, Stewart said that often people choose to give their friends “the benefit of the doubt.” In fact, the former host of The Daily Show said that the way he looked at the situation was, “to think of it in terms of, I’ve had friends who have compulsions and have done things — gambling or drinking or drugs.”

As he continued his explanation of his thoughts on the situation, Stewart said that some of these friends have been lost, and some have died, and when he looked back at their lives he wondered if there was something he could have done to help, or a moment that he missed where he could have made a difference. In terms of the situation with Louis C.K., Jon Stewart feels the same way, that there was something he could have done differently or even a moment that he missed seeing where he could have stepped in and helped. Stewart said that he feels like they all missed something in this particular situation and this means that “you feel anger at what he did to people.”

Beyond the scandal with Louis C.K., Jon Stewart said that comedy in general has not been a very good environment for women. He said that he really thinks it is unfortunate that not only did these women have to deal with the already negative environment of the industry, but then they also had the additional “layer of pressure and manipulation and fear and humiliation.”

According to Jon Stewart, when one learns about sexual misconduct happening around them, it leads to people getting mad at themselves, “for laughing it off or for thinking that didn’t happen.” In fact, the former talk show host even recalled having been asked about Louis C.K. rumors last year and just like he did at the time, he said that he had not heard anything about it at that point.

At the time that he was asked about the rumors, Jon Stewart also pointed out that at least with him the other man had always been a gentleman. Now looking back, Stewart says this was definitely not the right response because he thinks this is an example of the “blindness that a man has” when it comes to these kinds of allegations.

Since the expose was released and Louis C.K. confirmed that the allegations against him were true, Jon Stewart says they have not spoken with each other. While the two men may not have spoken since the expose, moving forward Stewart hopes that things start to change and people stop just taking one person’s word for what happened, and begin to really listening when someone says they were assaulted or harassed.

[Featured Image by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images]