It's Our City is a project that uses TV, Radio and Web
to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.Jon Stewart maligns Philly in Obama coverage, Philly responds in kind
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at 11:11 am - by Chris Satullo. Filed under: Entertainment.
Jon, Jon, Jon - why did it have to come to this?
In a world that is such a target-rich environment for his brand of political humor, why did Jon Stewart have to start his pre-inaugural version of The Daily Show Monday night with a weak, throwaway gibe at our fair city?
He opened the show with a laborious joke about how long it took Barack Obama to make the train ride from Philadelphia to Washington on Saturday.
His mention of Philly produced a flurry of cheers from the studio audience.
Stewart responded by twice likening the birthplace of democracy, the nation’s first capital, to excrement, using a two-syllable expletive ending in “-hole.”
This, from a man who grew up in New Jersey.
Watch it here, if you must. (You won’t have to watch long, it’s in the first 30 seconds.)
Meryl Levitz serves as Keeper-in-Chief of Philadelphia’s image; she’s president of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. I spoiled her morning, just as she was getting ready to hunker down happily for the swearing-in and the Speech, by letting her know what her old pal Jon had done.
“Oh no!!!!,” she cried. “He didn’t! Why?”
Meryl is a veteran of the Comedy Central wars, having done a memorable tongue-in-cheek turn on The Daily Show a few years ago to explain a gay-oriented tourism marketing campaign - then having shepherded the Colbert Report team through its rowdy, week-long visit to Philadelphia last spring during the Pennsylvania primary campaign.
A few hours later, Meryl called back, having watched the tape on the Web.
She was calm, to the point of triumph.
“Did you notice he didn’t get a rise out of the audience?” she asked. “They didn’t go with him on that one.”
So Levitz, who’s never shy to seize an opportunity to create buzz, is inclined to let this one go. No big “Hey, we’re not a —–hole!” marketing campaign.
But not without a couple of zingers back at Stewart:
“Gee, Jon, so sorry we beat your Giants. Get over it.”
“All I know is when Stephen Colbert came to Philadelphia, he not only had a great time, he had his four highest-rated shows ever.”
“Well, Jon, we’re used to this kind of thing and we know how to respond: Philadelphia, the city that bleeps you back.”
January 21st, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Yeah, that made me sad. Seems like such a cheap shot, and this from a Jersey boy. But I guess that’s what happens when you spend too much time in New York… you forget what a real up-and-coming city feels like. Or maybe you just don’t know what’s up down here?
I think Meryl should offer Jon a personal tour of the city… the artsiness of NoLibs, the neighborhood warmth of East Passyunk, the flash of Old City and Manyunk… the restaurant scene, the arts scene, the tech scene… C’mon, Jon. Come see what’s happening in Philly. You’ve clearly not been paying attention.
January 21st, 2009 at 1:00 pm
2 words…World Champs.
January 21st, 2009 at 1:49 pm
It’s really not a comment worth taking too seriously, everyone.
And you’re good sport, Meryl.
January 21st, 2009 at 2:13 pm
I remember people getting all up in arms when Ray Nagin visited Philadelphia, and said it was dirtier than New Orleans. Post-Katrina! Don’t get butthurt about it, look around and pick up the garbage around you. Steward and Nagin are both right - to a degree. When I grew up in central PA, we called this city Philthadelphia. I live in Philly now, but when I took the R5 in from Downingtown every day for the past two years, I was astonished at the garbage explosions I’d see along the tracks on the way through west Philly.
Philadelphia smells like pee. All over the place, but especially wherever SEPTA is. There are pee stains on most of the doors on the El, that’s gross. Don’t give me a sour face, it’s true. People throw their garbage (and needles, from time to time) down by the train tracks.
Don’t whine when people call this town out for being dirty. Pick up after yourself, and pick up after your neighbor.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:01 pm
[...] As many of you are (I’m sure) aware, Wednesday night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, harbinger of all things hysterical until they happen to you, quipped about Philadelphia being a shithole when he was talking about Obama’s whistlestop train adventure that kicked off at 30th Street Station. Philadelphians banded together in response by turning off their televisions, quivering in shame, and drowning their self-loathing in, you know, cheesesteaks or something. But have no fear, fellow citymen! Come out of your caves, return to the light, put your LOVE t-shirts back on! Meryl Levitz, president of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., is here to squelch the lingering ignominy! [...]
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Philadelphia is a shi-hole. Stewart got it right, and who better to say that than a man who is familiar with the area.
Philadelphians in general are amazingly selective in their ignorance. Somehow a discussion on the filthy state of their city, an insanely high murder rate, and 3rd world-like poverty can all be washed away by a meat-headed comment like “World Champs.” A few educational points:
1) The Phillies are NATIONAL champs, not world champs. The “World” Series is a misnomer. Regardless, the quality of the baseball team has very little to do with the quality of city’s upkeep.
2) Democracy was not born in Philadelphia, and neither was it an American invention. It hales from ancient Greece, and well before the common era.
3) The murder rate in Philly has been hoovering around 300/yr. It is the highest for cities over 1 million citizens, and the 7th highest in the country. The scarier thought is that this is during a good period in Philly’s recent history.
March 8th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Do any of you ever watch the show????
John constantly makes gratuitous defamatory remarks about EVERYTHING - people, places, things, himself, anything which has a remote connection to him (or not) It’s a comedy show - they’re jokes, people!
There’s a quote from his stand-up act in the Inquirer today (03/09) in which he “disparages” “The Boss’s” lyrics Fortunately, Bruce Springstein is a friend of John’s and has both a clue and a sense of humour.