The feud started last week when Goldberg accused liberals of making generalizations about the Tea Parties. Jon Stewart discovered that Goldberg and Fox News also had a habit of making generalizations about liberals.
After a slew of examples of hypocrisy by the conservative news network, Stewart concluded his segment last Thursday by simple telling them to "go f*ck yourself."
Goldberg began his response by admitting some level of hypocrisy. "Does Stewart have a point here? Are we being hypocritical by generalizing about some people?" Bill O'Reilly asked Goldberg Friday.
"He does. I'm am pleading giulty. That's a sincere plea of guilty," answered Goldberg.
But Goldberg couldn't stop there without launching an attack on Stewart. "Clearly you want to be a social commentator more than just a comedian, and if you want to be a good one, you better find some guts," said Goldberg.
It was apparent to Stewart that Goldberg didn't understand the mechanics of comedy. "To say that comedians have to decide whether they are comedians or social commentators, comedians do social commentary through comedy. That's how it's worked for thousands of years," explained Stewart.
Goldberg wasn't done with the insults. "Guess what? You are not nearly as edgy as you think you are. You are just a safe Jay Leno with a much smaller audience but you get to say the f-bomb," he quipped.
"Okay. That's going to leave a mark," joked Stewart. "If you think I'm Leno with the f-bomb then you know less about comedy than you do about media and politics."
"Look, I'm sorry I told you to go f*ck yourself last week and that other time like time six months ago when I told you to go f*ck yourself. I know that I criticize you and Fox New a lot but only because you're a terrible, cynical, disingenuous news organization," deadpanned Stewart.
Then Stewart decided to take a different approach. Accompanied by a keyboardist and sultry backup vocals, Stewart offered words of accord to the Fox News pundit.
"Baby, I don't want to fight, baby. And I know you've been hurt before by them liberal elites," said Stewart.
But Bernie Goldberg, I'll tell you this," exclaimed Stewart. "I don't need to satisfy your version of what fair satire is or should be. I'm not fair. I'm not balanced. You are criticizing me for not living up to your tagline!"
Stewart was just getting warmed up.
"And you dismiss any criticism as evidence of how the rest of the media persecute you. You like to pretend, Bernie Goldberg at Fox News, that the relentless conservative activism of Fox News is the equivalent, oh the equivalent of the disorganizes liberal influence you find at NBC, ABC and CBS."
"But Fox News, you may be able to detect a liberal pathogen in their bloodstream. However faint. But Fox News is such a crazy overreaction to that perceived threat, you're like an autoimmune disorder," Stewart revealed.
"I'm not saying the virus doesn't exist in some small quantity but you're producing way too may antibodies. Fox News, you're the lupus of news," he said.
"I guess what I'm saying is this. As long as fair and balance is how you sell yourselves..." Stewart prompted the chorus to finish his sentence.
"Go f*ck yourself," they repeatedly sang out. "Go f*ck yourself! Go f*ck yourself!"
This video is from Comedy Central's The Daily Show, broadcast April 20, 2010.
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