Jon Stewart and his late night cohort Steven Colbert gave a rather candid speech to a group of people at a fundraiser for the Montclair Film Festival on Friday night.
Stewart admitted that he was ready to walk from The Daily Show after he took over for Craig Kilborn back in 1999.“What I did not realize is, a lot of the people who worked there were assholes,” Stewart told the Huffington Post.
Stewart said he ultimately decided to stick with the job, but said it took him over two years to find his niche on the show. He also said his decision to stay came after much resistance from Kilborn’s previous staff, many of whom Stewart inherited.
One of those staffers was a young actor named Stephen Colbert, who although he was a Kilborn hire, found great chemistry with Stewart from the get go.
Back in 1999, when Stewart was first hired as the “Daily Show” host, Comedy Central held a press conference to make the announcement, and Colbert, as a mock reporter for “The Daily Show,” covered the event. He deadpanned to Stewart: “Does this announcement have any effect on the prospects of me getting the hosting job?”
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