'Punching down': Comedian Jon Stewart under fire as mockery falls flat with progressives

Comedian Jon Stewart is under fire over his decision to "punch down" at COVID-cautious people still choosing to wear a mask.

During a Dec. 11 episode of "The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart," the comedian made light of people wearing masks in progressive workplaces, joking about their reluctance to explain their health choices.

“There’s always two, and you always say, ‘Oh, are you sick?’ And they go, ‘Uh, I don’t want to talk about it,'” he joked to anti-Trump conservative Tim Miller.

The remarks sparked fierce backlash from COVID-cautious people, who accused Stewart of punching down at vulnerable populations, Mother Jones reported Monday.

Philip Palermo‪ wrote on X, "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."

Julia Métraux of Mother Jones piled onto the comedian, writing, "First of all, asking people why they are masking is invasive behavior. 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."

She noted that people with disabilities, cancer patients, and organ transplant recipients have long been encouraged by healthcare professionals to wear masks, and many say they've faced harassment for doing so, particularly in areas with mask bans.

“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,” Karistina Lafae, a disabled author and essayist, told the outlet. “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.”

Métraux noted that Stewart now faces accusations of hypocrisy, given his vocal support for 9/11 first responders suffering from environmental illness.

Epidemiologist Gabrielle A. Perry questioned how Stewart can advocate for 9/11 survivors while mocking Long COVID patients taking precautions. She wrote on Bluesky that Stewart has “some absolute f---ing NERVE to be making fun of Long COVID survivors and people still masking” when “he’s seen UP CLOSE the government deny healthcare and resources for 9/11 survivors who breathed in toxic air and are suffering decades later.”