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Fox News CEO Roger Ailes says Jon Stewart 'has a bitter view of the world' as the Daily Show host prepares to step down

Although he did admit he found the critic very funny

Chris Mandle
Thursday 06 August 2015 14:18 BST
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Roger Ailes
Roger Ailes (Getty)

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Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, has made no attempts at hiding his disdain for Fox News during his sixteen years presenting the satirical show. But despite his brilliant put-downs, Fox are apparently completely unfazed.

CEO of Fox News, Roger Ailes, told The Hollywood Reporter that Stewart "never made a dent in us", even after he compared Ailes to Death in a segment parodying Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal.

"As he faces the end of his career, he's beginning to wonder: 'Is this as popular as I'm ever going to get? Is this as much power as I'll ever have? The one person I could never get rid of was Roger Ailes. I tried. I did everything I could.'" he said.

Ailes added that he hasn’t seen the clip where he is a stand-in for the grim reaper, but isn’t surprised at the vitriol that he receives.

He also claimed Stewart must feel frustrated that Fox is doing so well.

"He’s feeling unrewarded because Fox News beats him on the amount of money we make, on ratings and on popularity. I’m sure it’s very depressing when he sits at home at night and worries about it. We never did."

He did concede though that Stewart was a 'brilliant' comedian and a nice guy, but said: "He has a bitter view of the world, and you see it embodied in how he’s reacting to Fox News".

As part of his final week, Stewart took another swipe at Fox, calling them 'hypocritical' for criticising his meetings with Obama when Ailes was found to be in regular contact with George Bush during the War On Terror.

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