Jon Stewart opened Monday night’s episode of The Daily Show with a personal and shocking admission: his name is included in the recently released Jeffrey Epstein documents. “Of course, to get ahead of the story, I am also in the files,” Stewart said with a characteristically nervous laugh. “We all searched our names, right?”
He quickly assured viewers the context was not what they might fear. His name surfaced in a 2015 email exchange between the disgraced financier and film producer Barry Josephson (Enchanted). The two were discussing the career of a filmmaker referred to as “Woody,” whom Stewart surmised was Woody Allen. “It’s the Epstein files — it ain’t Harrelson or the cowboy from ‘Toy Story,’” he joked.
Setting the scene with mock drama, Stewart displayed the email. “Jeffrey Epstein always had his finger on the pulse of what America was clamoring for in 2015!” he quipped, reading Epstein’s suggestion that “Woody” do a new stand-up special. Josephson’s reply contained the Jon Stewart mention, pitching a biographical project: “Somebody like Jon Stewart could host/narrate the biographical part.”
Stewart feigned outrage at the vague phrasing. “Excuse me? I am offended! Somebody like Jon Stewart, or Jon Stewart?! My point is, do I have the offer or is this an audition?” he exclaimed, turning his own tangential connection into a brilliant bit of comedic relief.
The host then pivoted to more serious figures implicated in the documents: Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Stewart noted that Musk had posted about the files “more than 85 times over the last two days,” adding, “Ever since those revelations, Elon has been, how do the kids say it? Crashing out.”
Regarding Trump, Stewart argued that the document release by the Department of Justice was less about transparency and more about obscuring accountability. “Look man, we always knew that the people at DOJ releasing these documents weren’t on a fact-finding mission, they were running interference,” Stewart said. “And the guy they’re running interference for seems very satisfied with these results.”
In his signature style, Stewart managed to blend self-deprecating humor about his own minor, bizarre mention with sharp political commentary on the powerful men entangled in the scandal, masterfully framing the absurdity and gravity of the Epstein list fallout.
