Jon Stewart: Rick Sanchez – A Complex TV Character (Video)

“I want to clarify something here; we weren’t making fun of Rick Sanchez because of some slight to his ethnicity,” Stewart said on Monday’s “Daily Show.” “It’s just that we here see him as kind of a complex television character, who is flawed but fascinating to watch every week, and we put this whole bit together to kind of demonstrate that point. And then they fire the guy! So doing the whole bit now just seems kind of mean.” Stewart paused. “But you gotta have just a little taste of it!”

For those of you who haven’t yet heard, former CNN host Rick Sanchez was interviewed September 30, 2010 on Sirius XM’s radio show “Stand Up With Pete Dominick.” Sanchez was reportedly angry about being replaced by CNN’s new Parker Spitzer talk show and the constant jokes made at his expense on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” On ‘Stand Up,” Sanchez called Stewart a “bigot” then retreated and referred to Stewart as “prejudicial” and “uninformed.” When asked whether Stewart and Jewish people were an oppressed minority group in America, Sanchez responded:

“ Yeah, very powerless people. [laughs] He’s such a minority. I mean, you know, please. What—are you kidding? I’m telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart. And to imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority…”

The next day after his remarks, CNN announced that it had fired Sanchez.

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