Amy Schumer, standup comedian and star of Comedy Central's "Inside Amy Schumer," was reportedly offered Jon Stewart's position as host of "The Daily Show" when he announced his upcoming retirement, but she turned it down.
"I was so honored to be asked and considered," Schumer
told The Daily Beast late last week.
"With Comedy Central, I project so much 'You’re my parents!' on the network and the people that run it, so them saying, 'We believe in you and trust that you can do this,' I thought, 'Oh my God, thank you!'"
Schumer was not be the only one to turn down the position, however, as previous reports revealed that Amy Poehler, veteran of "Saturday Night Live" and "Parks and Recreation," also said no.
"And then I thought, 'Well, I could give everyone I love a job and we could all be together for five years. But picturing being in a building and knowing what I was going to do for five years — I love not knowing. And I’ve never done anything safe or to make money for that reason. So, you know, I said, 'I can’t start now,'" Schumer explained.
The gig was also turned down by Chris Rock — who said he would only want to do it for a year — and the position was ultimately awarded to Trevor Noah, a young comic from South Africa.
In a related story, Schumer this weekend also waded into the ongoing debate about performing comedy amid a climate of politically correct speech codes, something Rock and Jerry Seinfeld have spoken out about previously.
"I am not going to start joking about safe material. And don’t ask that of me. I love what I do and won’t let anyone take that away. I ask you to resist the urge to pick me apart. Trust me. I am not racist. I am a devout feminist and lover of all people," she said.
"My fight is for all people to be treated equally. So move on to the next person who is more deserving of your scrutiny and not the girl in your corner,"
she wrote on Twitter.