Wow. That escalated quickly.
On Tuesday night, The Daily Show did a segment about terrorist groups in the Middle East (shown in the clip above), and correspondent Jessica Williams made a joke about a new terrorist super group forming that had "one member each from ISIS, Al Nusra, Al Qaeda, Hamas, One Direction, and the Zetas drug cartel."
Most people giggled and chuckled at the satire. Or at the very least they smiled casually.
One Direction fans, however, were livid. And now they are basically asking for Jon Stewart's head on a stick.
Apparently Jessica mentioning One Direction in a bit about terrorists made the fans jump to the conclusion that she was calling member Zayn Malik, who is Muslim, a terrorist.
We repeat: They heard One Direction mentioned in a segment about terrorists, and they took that as The Daily Show labeling Zayn a terrorist.
And now four (that's right, four) top trending topics on Twitter are from One Directions fans leading the charge against the fake news show:
#TheDailyShowGoneTooFar
#ZaynDefenseSquad
#ZaynIsTheMostAmazingHumanBeing
#ZaynSavesNotKills
To be clear, no one on The Daily Show actually called Zayn a terrorist, but no one told One Directions fans that:
HOW CAN YOU SAID THAT ZAYN IS A TERRORIST ? GET A LIFE !! ZAYN IS THE MOST SWEET AND PERFECT HUMAN ON THIS PLANET #TheDailyShowGoneTooFar
? Malina (@malinamalyy10) September 26, 2014#TheDailyShowGoneTooFar you seriously guys need a dictionary, or just Google the meaning of terrorism and terrorist!
? Sam (@that_x_girl) September 26, 2014Zayn is not a "terrorist" so if you mess with him you mess with the directioners! So good luck guys! #TheDailyShowGoneTooFar
? PLEASE GUYS ? (@andregonzalez_r) September 26, 2014#TheDailyShowGoneTooFar tf you seriously? Do you know what you're talking about? You can't just call someone a terrorist just bc he's muslim
? I love/need u cal (@O2lCloudNarry) September 26, 2014If he is a terrorist then my first love is a terrorist bc he is my truly first love #thedailyshowgonetoofar pic.twitter.com/aVT1TIJ3rI
? dem (@greysnialler1dx) September 26, 2014Zayn is such a good person and he never did and never will do anything to deserve this he's a muslim, not a terroist #thedailyshowgonetoofar
? ?J loves N 238Days? (@jeniall97) September 26, 2014Basically a TV show called Zayn a terrorist because of his religion. #thedailyshowgonetoofar
? One Direction (@1DFinders) September 26, 2014ITS NOT LIKE YOU DONT KNOW WHO THE REAL ZAYN IS. ITS LIKE YOU DONT WANT TO SHOW THE REAL ZAYN
#thedailyshowgonetoofar pic.twitter.com/rXr3e4mTCA
? Satan | inactive (@iLarrySatan) September 26, 2014JUST BC A FEW MUSLIMS WERE TERRORISTS IT DOESNT MEEN THEY ALL ARE.
#TheDailyShowGoneTooFar
? 3 DAY STEAL MY GIRL (@swaffl3styles) September 26, 2014#TheDailyShowGoneTooFar IT MAKES ME SO AMGRY & UPSET WHEN PEOPLE CALL ZAYN A TERRORIST! HE IS THE SWEETEST AND MOST CARING PERSON EVER!
? Steph || 136 days ! (@malilk_) September 26, 2014suspend them theyre being so disgusting i hope zayn doesnt see this bc i'll literally shatter #TheDailyShowGoneTooFar pic.twitter.com/ebeIDGXz94
? tweet limit | kat (@noniallergic) September 26, 2014They're like 40 years old. You would think they would be mature #thedailyshowgonetoofar
? S a m m i (@SnuggyBugStyles) September 26, 2014This person is not only quoting a sentence that Jessica never said, but is using a Supernatural meme to threaten her:
@icupcakestyles: "zayn malik is a terrorist" says the lady from the daily show #thedailyshowgonetoofar pic.twitter.com/dwTXbRz5Iw" @lara_steph17
? Nayeli Reyes (@nayelibelieves) September 26, 2014And that basically sums up the Daily Show uproar from One Direction fans: irrational, confusing and littered with misinformation.
We can maybe understand One Direction fans being upset that The Daily Show lumped their precious boys in with a group of known terrorist organizations, but they are severely reaching when they accuse Jessica of actually calling Zayn a terrorist. And we doubt that the writing staff at The Daily Show could name all the members of One Direction, much less know each of their religious affiliations. Seems like they picked the most popular band on the planet at the moment, and since 'N Sync hasn't been together for a long time (R.I.P.), it was One Direction who got the shout out.
But just so everyone knows: Zayn is an angel sent from heaven, damn it!
HE IS AN ANGEL
#TheDailyShowGoneTooFar
#ZaynDefenseSquad
#Zaynisnotaterrorist pic.twitter.com/jMON4t6rks
? PROUD MUSLIM (@NiallHoranBH) September 26, 2014We're looking forward to The Daily Show's response to this 1D brouhaha. Also, we hope "1Dbrouhaha" becomes a hashtag on Twitter soon.