The Daily Show With Jon Stewart isn't afraid of stirring up a little controversy!
And on Thursday, after a semi-serious, lengthy disclaimer delivered by Jon Stewart himself, the Comedy Central show aired a segment featuring Washington Redskins fans and Native Americans. Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones asked both groups to reveal their feelings toward the NFL team's contentious mascot, then brought them together for a face-to-face debate.
After taping the segment on Sept. 13, some of the Redskins fans seemingly regretted their participation. A Washington Post article quoted one woman defending the mascot name as saying, "This goes way beyond mocking...The Native Americans accused me of things that were so wrong. I felt in danger. I didn't consent to that. I am going to be defamed."
Stewart acknowledged that "some of the individuals who participated in the piece—they didn't enjoy the experience." He added, "We take the complaints seriously."
"We work very hard to find real people who have real beliefs and want to express those beliefs on television," he said. "And we work hard to make sure the gist of those beliefs are represented accurately, albeit sometimes comedically on our program. If we find out someone in a piece was intentionally misled, or if their comments were intentionally misrepresented, we do not air that piece. We would not air that piece."
"So that being said," he offered, "I hope you enjoy this piece."
In the segment, Native Americans expressed their views on why the D.C. team's mascot was offensive. "It's a dictionary defined racial slur," said one man.
"It's a name that impairs, disables and disenfranchises our population," she another. "The most popular mascots in our nation are animals and Indians...We're not mascots."
Redskins fans defending the mascot, though, tried to explain their attachment to the team name. "This is our culture," said one. "This is who we are."
Jones talked to Redskins fans, many of them wearing Native American-style headdresses, before a game. By request, their faces were blurred out. One asked seriously, "Am I not a Native American? Was I not born in this country?"
The Daily Show correspondent joked of the fans, "This is a culture so proud they didn't even want their faces on TV—even after they signed our release forms."
As for the actual debate between Redskins fans and Native Americans? What was shown of it was, well, awkward, to say the least.
Watch the piece above and let us know what you think!