Jon Stewart told Matt Lauer he was “stunned” to hear about the harassment allegations against his friend and fellow comedian Louis CK, saying that he hadn’t been aware of the misconduct.
Stewart spoke on “Today” about the allegations as he promoted his HBO comedy special “Night of Too Many Stars,” and wondered what he could have done to stop the behavior, to which CK has admitted, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“You give your friends the benefit of the doubt,” Stewart said, referencing other friends who have had addiction problems, some of which have even died. “You always find yourself back to a moment of, ‘Did I miss something? Could I have done more?”
He said he and others might have missed clues or opportunities to address behavior, and said he felt anger at what CK did to the women, THR reported.
CK was removed from Stewart’s special over the allegations, Fox News reported. Stewart also said sexual harassment was widespread in Hollywood, and even alluded to the fact that it could be a problem at NBC, as NBC News fired Matt Zimmerman on the same day for inappropriate actions toward women, Fox News reported.
Stewart also addressed a 2016 video of him blowing off allegations against CK during an appearance at the University of Chicago, saying he regrets that he didn’t take the question seriously, Fox reported.
“We all took somebody’s word for it and maybe that’s ... that’s an error on our part,” he said, Fox reported. Stewart said he hadn’t talked to CK since The New York Times article about the allegations was published, Fox reported.