Tina Fey: Jon Stewart Doesn't Make People Laugh

Tina Fey wrote the movie "Mean Girls," but in the latest issue of Reader's Digest she's playing the part in real life. In an interview with the magazine's Jancee Dunn, Fey disses "The Daily Show" and Jon Stewart, who she says makes audiences clap more than laugh:

RD: Do you see your humor as a gift? Fey: I always think of everything from a mother's point of view now. Every kid has something they're good at, that you hope they find and gravitate toward. This is my thing. I don't think I was supposed to be a gymnast and accidentally landed on this.

RD: Do you still get that hit when you get a good laugh?
Fey: Absolutely. My favorite day at 30 Rock is Thursday, when the show airs. At lunch we screen the episodes. For everyone to watch together, to see the stuff we all worked on, to hear the crew laugh — it's great fun.

RD: What pleases you more, applause or laughter?
Fey: Laughter. You can prompt applause with a sign. My friend, SNL writer Seth Meyers, coined the term clapter, which is when you do a political joke and people go, "Woo-hoo." It means they sort of approve but didn't really like it that much. You hear a lot of that on [whispers] The Daily Show.

Read the entire interview here.

Comments

[KristaJulieva]

Anyone who's ever withstood watching Seth Myers in the Weekend Update chair knows that he should be an expert by now at all the myriad possible reactions of an audience to jokes besides that of "sincere laughter."

[Pookie2112]

I like Tina Fey but she's dead wrong on this one. And, I must say, I can always count on Jon Stewart to say or do something on a daily basis that will just about bring tears to my eyes I laugh so hard and so frequent! Stewart rightly skewers the political arena as a whole, the hypocrisy present in both the GOP and Dem parties and I LOVE when he goes after the MSM for its sheer stupidity and its "talent" for making a microscopic ant hill into Mount Everest.

While her acting leaves a wee bit to be desired, Tina Fey should just stick with what she knows best -how to write a decent sitcom.

[JS1965]

Well, next to Baldwin even a rock might seem funny.

[glorija]

These Tina Fey's words are very disappointing and do not suit well an intelligent woman who claims to have a comedic talent.

[sa]

sat question:

tina fey is to jon stewart as:

a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)

p.s. the before is supposed to be horribly more terrible than the after.
p.p.s but tina fey is very funny. hmmm...
p.p.p.s when democrats war, bush wins! ah - ha! the precusor to the election! i see it all clearly!!!!!

p.p.p.p.s wind is to the color blue/green.

[okjoel]

Tina could not carry Jon Stewart's (well you know). She doesn't possess the wit or mental equipment that Jon has. Tina is actually pretty humorless (just like her candidiate).

[OhCanada]

HAAHAHAHAHHA. Tina Fey???!!!! Tina Fey???!!!!! That's like a homeless person giving Donald Trump financial advice.

[Boboday555]

Tina...Ixn­ay on the nsultsays.

[WWWexler]

I stopped watching SNL about 20 years ago when it stopped being funny. If I want skit humor, I find MAD TV to be much more to the point.

Have I missed something from SNL? I suspect not much.

However, I rarely miss The Daily Show and Colbert, because they cheer me up in an environment where every morning I peruse the internet for political and current events news and every morning it's worse than the day before.

Sorry, Tina, if what I'm doing is "clapting", I enjoy doing that more than being bored by predictable, tired skit actors.

-Wexler

[scottco]

This thread has gone on about 9 minutes too long...jus­t like an SNL skit.

[nightprowler]

does anyone even watch snl anymore?

[joja]

night --

Exactly. The only time I ever see it is in sound-bite clips on other MSM outlets.

[CalliDem]

Ahhh ... ObamaPost still mad at Tina Fey for her brilliant insights

[ObamaEdwards]

Calling Clinton a bitch on TV is a brilliant insight?

[rfk68]

Take Clinton and Obama out of the equation, and ponder the virtues of Tina Fey. Air-brushed corporate humor is not insight.

[fzriely]

It's called satire. Recommending that the British boil Irish babies for supper isn't supposed to be guffaw-inducing, knee-slapping funny. It's supposed to make you think.

Still, the funniest, most side-splitting things I've ever seen on TV were from The Daily Show: any episode of Steve v Stephen and "Son of a Turd Miner".

When Tina, as funny as she is, has to do a show 4 days a week and for more than 13 weeks a year, then she can criticize.

[RichardHiorns]

wow she finally said something funny. Or at least ironic.

[bagelmaven]

I tape John Stewart every night and listen in the a.m. Sometimes I find him funny, sometimes I agree with what he says and clap but I must admit I do not think he is as hilarious as I know some do.

I hate the stupid yelling at the beginning of his show and fast forward that. Too much time is wasted on nothing but yelling. In addition I find that stupid pen and paper he scribbles on ridiculous. What is the point of that? Nothing, it's pointless and a waste of time.

I am NOT particularly fond of John Stewart having on as guests right wing jerks who simply want to peddle their latest book or TV show. We have had ENOUGH conservative junk coming across the airways every single day. The corporate control of everything includes the media too. So my advice to Stewart, if you are going to do a somewhat serious interview pick one from our side of the isle. God knows we need it more!!

I LOVE political satire and criticism of those (especially) Republicans in power. There is so much there to use and I think it should be taken advantage of now while we have them. Soon it could, by all rational thought, be that these utterly insipid excuses for leaders will be overthrown and gone. The comics may have a little less to use. Maybe that's too naive to count on. Will America put in power those who will shoot them in the foot, wrack up HUGE debt as they steal billions from us and kill 4000 + of our youth, ruin our foreign standing in the world and worst of all FAIL to catch the perpetrator of 9/11? Stay tuned.

N. Rosen

[clumberlover]

tina fey really makes me laugh because she actually thinks she makes me laugh - Jon Stewart is hilarious - love him!