Jon Stewart is facing sharp criticism after comments he made about people who continue to wear face masks, with detractors accusing him of “punching down” at COVID-cautious and medically vulnerable communities. The remarks aired during a Dec. 11 episode of The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, when Stewart joked about mask-wearing colleagues in progressive workplaces while speaking with conservative commentator Tim Miller.
“There are always two, and you always say, ‘Oh, are you sick?’ And they go, ‘Uh, I don’t want to talk about it,’” Stewart said, drawing laughs in the studio. The joke quickly sparked backlash online, particularly from people who say masking remains a necessary health precaution. Critics argued that Stewart’s comments trivialized serious medical realities and ignored the reasons many people continue to wear masks years after the height of the pandemic.
