Jon Stewart draws criticism for joking about mask-wearing, angering disabled advocates
Jon Stewart is facing sharp criticism after comments he made about people who continue to wear face masks, with detractors accusing him of “punching down” at COVID-cautious and medically vulnerable communities. The remarks aired during a Dec. 11 episode of The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, when Stewart joked about mask-wearing colleagues in progressive workplaces while speaking with conservative commentator Tim Miller.
“There are always two, and you always say, ‘Oh, are you sick?’ And they go, ‘Uh, I don’t want to talk about it,’” Stewart said, drawing laughs in the studio. The joke quickly sparked backlash online, particularly from people who say masking remains a necessary health precaution. Critics argued that Stewart’s comments trivialized serious medical realities and ignored the reasons many people continue to wear masks years after the height of the pandemic.
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Mother Jones reported Monday that COVID-cautious individuals felt the comedian was targeting a vulnerable group. Philip Palermo shared a personal response on X, writing, “Disappointed to see Jon Stewart & co joke about masking in public. I do it for my medically fragile daughter (Batten Disease). People not masking properly led to her getting pneumonia, which led to her being on life support, which led to me getting price quotes on her cremation just in case.”
Mother Jones journalist Julia Métraux also criticized Stewart, arguing that questioning someone’s decision to mask crosses a line. “First of all, asking people why they are masking is invasive behavior,” she wrote. “No one randomly owes you information about their health, their loved one’s health, or, understandably, just wanting to avoid Covid, which is the only way to prevent Long Covid.”
Métraux emphasized that people with disabilities, cancer patients, and organ transplant recipients are often advised by doctors to wear masks, and many have reported harassment for doing so, particularly in regions with mask restrictions or bans.
Disabled author and essayist Karistina Lafae echoed those concerns, telling the outlet, “Sad that Jon Stewart and friends have become just more white liberals who enjoy punching down at marginalized people who are just doing our best to survive.”
She added, “Those of us who have Long COVID, who have watched family and friends die of COVID, we are being mocked for taking common-sense precautions against illness and further disability.”
The criticism has also raised accusations of hypocrisy. Stewart has long been praised for advocating on behalf of 9/11 first responders suffering from long-term environmental illnesses. Epidemiologist Gabrielle A. Perry questioned how Stewart reconciles that advocacy with his recent jokes, writing on Bluesky that he has “some absolute f—ing NERVE to be making fun of Long COVID survivors and people still masking” after witnessing the government’s failure to support 9/11 survivors. As the debate continues, Stewart has yet to publicly respond to the backlash.
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