www.thewrap.com: “The Daily Show” is laying down the law for Jon Stewart, specifically when it comes to drinkware. After the late night host cut his hand on a ceramic mug on air in late February, the Comedy Central show actually scheduled a meeting about what Stewart is and is not allowed to drink out of while filming.
5 comments:
I think the whole situation with Jon Stewart and the mug is pretty funny. It’s wild that the show had to have a meeting about what he can drink out of now. The fact that a simple mug caused so much trouble is ridiculous, but it’s also kind of funny how seriously they treated it. It’s like they’re treating him like a child who needs things to be baby-proofed, which just makes it all funnier. When Stewart showed his tiny wound and joked about how it almost took him down, it felt so typical of him. He knows how to take something like that and make it funny without going over the top. His new plastic mug with the sippy cup lid is a perfect response to all of it. The "World's Most Dad" phrase on it is just the right amount of silly. It’s a good example of how Stewart can turn something small into a joke.
Just the whole situation of a room full of adults having a serious meeting about how another adult cannot be trusted with ceramic mugs for his own safety in a real place of business is so wonderfully hilarious to me. That's one of those meetings that no one ever thinks they are going to find themselves in, but it does raise an important point about prop safety, and thinking about worst case scenarios especially when it comes to things breaking. This whole situation really brings light to the no glass on stage rule, because while the idea of actor proofing things because actors are delicate is funny in concept, it's important. Shit happens that can't always be expected, and the very last thing you want is for the talent to start bleeding out because of a mug you supplied. So I love that Jon Stewart turned this into a bit because it really gives a glimpse into the mundane yet ridiculous situations that are a part of the entertainment industry.
I’ve been watching the daily show since 2020, and I watched both the episode in which Jon Stewart injured his hand, and the one after that where he mentioned the safety meeting. My immediate thought was that the mug breaking was scripted, because Jon just continued his monologue like everything was normal. It wasn’t until a minute or so later when he briefly showed the audience his hand that I realized he was actually bleeding. I admired his ability to finish the monologue and stay professional, but I also can see how waiting to seek medical assistance could have been dangerous.
Safety on set has always been something I have thought about, especially when stunt work is involved. I was a massive potterhead as a child, so the accident on the set of deathly hallows that caused David Holmes, the stunt actor for Daniel Radcliffe to become partially paralyzed, has stuck with me. This incident on the daily show has only brought David Holmes’ story back to the front of my mind.
It’s so funny to me that the concerns around safety on set that seem so childish and irrelevant are almost always very applicable in real life, and do on occasion impact professionals. Stewart breaking his mug live on camera is certainly unexpected, but not completely unreasonable when you are working with ceramic instead of plastic. But if I was in the props department, I would have never anticipated the event, and I really hope that nobody was fired or talked too harshly for giving Stewart a traditional mug instead of a plastic, non breakable one. At least nobody was injured too badly, and Stewart was able to turn the injury into a comedic bit quickly. I’m glad that his hand recovered from this traumatic event.
I remember watching these episodes! Both the one with the broken mug, and the one with the sippy cup, and at the time I thought nothing of it. I was only half paying attention when Jon Stewart broke the mug, and I had honestly thought that it was a planned gag (I am very used to John Oliver and his shenanigans) so when I watched the sippy cup episode I had no idea what they were talking about. Reading this now, it makes so much sense that the network would do this. I feel like the entertainment industry as a whole has been moving away from using glass props, and even though it is objectively funny when they break, the safety hazard is not one to be messed around with. Especially as a WWE fan who has watched the footage of Shane McMahon being put through the plexiglass, I HATE the idea of glass set pieces and props being used without considering safety precautions. As frustrating as it can be for TV presenters, I feel like this also gives Jon Stewart an incredible opportunity, which he has already begun to utilize, to use the variety of his new drinking implements as a comedic bit, and continue to display his anger without fear for his safety or for the crew who has to clean up the set.
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