Jon Stewart sticking the knife in to JKR over "Jewish" goblins

[WandaWomblesaurus73]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10368289/Jon-Stewart-accuses-JK-Rowling-anti-Semitism-Harry-Potter.html

Ffs

If you look at the original Newsweek article, it appears to have been substantially amended today, while still keeping its original publication of 4 January 2022. The lawyers have been all over this.

www.newsweek.com/jon-stewart-accuses-jk-rowling-antisemitism-harry-potter-goblins-1665301

The Guardian, surprisingly late to the party, published a piece around 10pm claiming Stewart was criticising Rowling, then hastily removed it and replaced it with a PA news agency piece headlined 'Jon Stewart denies claims...'

@nauticant

I think JS has been very sneaky here. Here's my version. I think once the Newsweek story went viral he realised he had to distance himself from the comments of this they'd reported. There was a risk of legal unpleasantries and he realised Newsweek wouldn't be on the hook because they could say "we were just reporting what JS said" and on the face of it they were. Therefore, he's now going through a pantomime to suggest that Newsweek made up their account of what he said when they actually didn't. In such muddled circumstances where JS has disowned his comments, sort of, there would be little pointl in JKR going after JS legally and so he wriggles off the hook without going through the humiliation of having to apologise to JKR.

JS has behaved incredibly poorly firstly by making the initial slander and secondly for then weaselling about trying to put the blame onto Newsweek rather than taking responsibility for his own actions.

Hmmm. All plausible, but also all supposition and opinion.

I’ve watched Jon Stewart for decades (though not recently, I admit). Nothing about him has ever sent alarm bells to me. Nothing ever near the level of plotting that I inferred from your post.

I think he’s funny, intelligent, human, got it wrong, said so.

Sometimes people are just human and honest.

Aha. Well, that's a bit shitey, then. Will be interesting to see how it plays out. Hopefully, a net positive for JKR.

all supposition and opinion.

Including this bit?

JS has behaved incredibly poorly firstly by making the initial slander and secondly for then weaselling about trying to put the blame onto Newsweek rather than taking responsibility for his own actions.

Yeah, I mean after watching the initial video of JS talking about this, I feel like it's pretty clear he was implying that JKR is anti-semitic, or at least was perpetuating anti-semitic tropes in Harry Potter? The other two lads were joining in as well, I wonder what they think now?

Sometimes people are just human and honest.

Sometimes people are dishonest too.

The thing about smearing someone in a video means that one cannot pretend they were misquoted. All there to hear from the horse's own mouth.

I don't know. He says in the apology that his comments were framed by a discussion of how antisemitic tropes are so mainstream as to be invisible. So if that was his starting point, would be good to hear it - it's not in the video linked from this thread. It would make a difference - i.e. he'd be saying something more like "this kind of caricature happens all the time - for example judging from the set, you'd think that JKR had said let's get Jews to run this bank" ...

It's hardly astounding that Newsweek made the leap they did, though...

He does specifically single JKR out and associate her with the anti semitic caricatures he was holding and showing the other chappies. Indeed implies she was enthusiastic about using the caricatures as a basis for the banker goblins. As he said "JKR was like, 'can we get these guys to run our bank?' ". Now he did qualify it a little by continuing that she wanted the caricature to be shown with even sharper teeth.

Maybe there is a fuller video where he points out he isn't spreading any personal smear about JKR, but was only acting out how someone trying to smear JKR would disingenuously say something like that.

I love Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert from living in America during their peak - they were both a sanity lifeline before Obama was voted in.

Colbert is the greatest Lord of the Rings fan and quoter. Stewart is a man who before today I would have said was a man of great integrity.

The original post here was mine in disappointment - that betrayal that we felt when Stephen King betrayed women in his tweets - that horrible moment.

I've watched the video of Stewart and I have some thoughts about it that I'm too tired to post now but I would say that - it's banter - it's banter that says on the nose things - non pc things... not being very eloquent here but, they are the kind of things we all say on all sides in informal conversations where we are taking the piss out of conventions. I'm Indian and I do it about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - whilst also adoring the film.

There is a sort of literal reading of statements that TRAs do that lose all nuance and meaning. There is an ignorance that means I can see how this could happen.

I can also see how a legal threat could be motivation too - but in other areas of Stewart's life he holds integrity from what I have seen. Maybe he isn't "Do it to Julia." after all, and as I said he did support Chapelle.

However what I want from Stewart and other prominent men is not just a "I don't think JKR is.....(insert witch accusation here)"

I want these powerful men to be as brave as her and say
"I stand with JK Rowling."

I think Jon Stewart was probably making a joke possibly in order to make a wider comment about anti-Semitism. I think he massively underestimated how much JKR lives in peoples heads rent free. I certainly don't think he (or anyone really) deserves to be "cancelled".
Also - you can do literary analysis on almost anything, sometimes to make a more serious point sometimes for fun. Actually in school our English teacher gave us a tongue in cheek Marxist analysis of Harry Potter to read. The point was you can use those analysis tools on anything, not that JKR was actually an agent of the capitalist bourgeousie. But now it would cause a storm...

By "live in some peoples heads rent free" I don't mean the majority of posters here by the way.

I've changed my mind after watching Stewart's video...I don't think he's out to get JKR and I hear banter and musing from him, no calling for her head. I've respected Stewart for a long time and I regret my knee jerk cancel bandwagon I jumped on. I got defensive of JKR and didn't really parse the nuance.

Not actually looked into this, but I do respect Stewart, and the initial headline puzzled me because he didn't seem the type. He appears to be one of the smarter lefty folks who have failed to succumb to Wokeness.

I'm reminded of something YouTuber Cluniac said in a video (I've only just come across him, and not actually finished that one).

It was with respect to some TRA having a go at Dave Chappelle for transphobia.

So the first thing i just want to say is, I do not like the fact that we are nowadays using the word "discourse" around comedians. Comedians are not supposed to be taken seriously. Their job is to make people laugh and make fun of us. That is what their job is and it's actually a pretty important job for society so that we don't take ourselves too seriously.

Discourse is a very serious word. It is usually used in legal issues or debates or arguments or politics. Things that really matter for people's lives. Dave Chappelle's jokes do not matter for people's lives other than the fact that you might get offended at it, and so using the word "discourse" around it and saying that it's transphobic, which...

This is another issue, and this is this is something I said in the intro. Okay it's transphobic,who cares? Who cares? It's transphobic. It's a joke. It's a joke. He's joking. Literally, he is joking. You couldn't say it any better than that. He is joking. I mean, that's his job, is to joke, right. So he is literally in the act of joking at the moment, and you are saying it's transphobic. Okay, who gives a shit, who cares?

We're not in a healthy place if people like Chapelle or Stewart are getting their routines pounced on and published in opinion pieces. If they wanted to be writing serious newspaper columns they would be doing that, not performing comedy. You cannot treat a comedian's output as if they are a serious newspaper columnist.

So Newsweek is at fault for publishing remarks from his routine as if it was a comment piece, and then we're at fault for responding to it as if it was.

The Wokeys use this sense-of-humour failure attack in both directions. Comedian says something they think is "offensive"? Take it seriously to attack them. Comedian says something rude about someone you don't like? Take it seriously to attack that person.

Oh dear. Twitter Monitors i. Do Not Approve Of This Thread (I know, shocking); ii. continue to find cultural imperialism utterly irresistible; & iii. have given me The Cringe with (ii) & the projecting-like-the-world’s-cinemas-combined. So very inconsiderate when it’s breakfast time.

@NitroNine

Oh dear. Twitter Monitors i. Do Not Approve Of This Thread (I know, shocking); ii. continue to find cultural imperialism utterly irresistible; & iii. have given me The Cringe with (ii) & the projecting-like-the-world’s-cinemas-combined. So very inconsiderate when it’s breakfast time.

Obviously haven't read the full thread either.

Ach, do I really have to go and seek out the original video at source and watch it in full to get a sense of context nuance and subtlety? All of this takes time and effort ...

No wonder we prefer our opinions predigested and presented neatly. I saw an app that summarises books into short precis (plural?!) yesterday. Maybe authors should just shorten things into a paragraph in the first place? Harry Potter could have been much quicker if JKR had got to the point in book 1 and told us what happens to Voldemort right away.

I can understand the temptation of that app as a kind of über Spark Notes (minus commentary) Arabella - a blessing for those who’ve not read the text; & of course a boon for anyone who wants to appear more widely-read than they really are

Oh, me too, Nitro. I'm not averse to shortcuts! And to be fair, I think it's for non-fic not fiction. Yet.

Meanwhile, outside the world of fantasy, JKR is one of the few writers who have actually used their adult fiction, the Strike books, to criticise the anti-semitism in sections of British Left-wing activism.

@NitroNine

Oh dear. Twitter Monitors i. Do Not Approve Of This Thread (I know, shocking); ii. continue to find cultural imperialism utterly irresistible; & iii. have given me The Cringe with (ii) & the projecting-like-the-world’s-cinemas-combined. So very inconsiderate when it’s breakfast time.

And they still think any six-pointed star qualifies as a Star of David and that JKR personally designed and built the floor of Australia House.

Sigh.

I think Jon Stewart was probably making a joke possibly in order to make a wider comment about anti-Semitism. I think he massively underestimated how much JKR lives in peoples heads rent free.

Interesting point, namity. I wonder if the same could be said about Patton 'repent motherfucker' Oswalt, although I'd imagine both of them would have been watching the Chappelle fallout with interest. (And horror, I'd have previously thought.)

I appreciate Jon addressing this head on as he has previously never been one for bullshit or being told what to think. From the clip though, he lets an awful lot of the blame for the point he makes fall on JKR expressly, which didn't sound great. But he has kept on track and not dragged personal opinion or criticism of JKR into it which makes a refreshing change.

PurgatoryOfPotholes

It’s mortifying-by-proxy, isn’t it? Given the overlap between those accusing JKR of antisemitism & the ardent amateur vexillologists I find myself faintly astonished that apparently none of them have ever seen an Australian flag.

(Of course all the stretching people are doing on this means they’ll be nicely warmed up if they want to take part in sporting activities… )

@namitynamechange

I think Jon Stewart was probably making a joke possibly in order to make a wider comment about anti-Semitism. I think he massively underestimated how much JKR lives in peoples heads rent free. I certainly don't think he (or anyone really) deserves to be "cancelled". Also - you can do literary analysis on almost anything, sometimes to make a more serious point sometimes for fun. Actually in school our English teacher gave us a tongue in cheek Marxist analysis of Harry Potter to read. The point was you can use those analysis tools on anything, not that JKR was actually an agent of the capitalist bourgeousie. But now it would cause a storm...

I'm choosing to believe this to be the case as well. Regardless, I'm really glad he came out later and said what he did, for JK's sake and just as a fuck you to all those who jumped on it to beat her with another stick