About Those 'Secret' Obama Meetings...

Media outlets, particularly conservative ones, had a field day this week analyzing Jon Stewart’s alleged “secret” White House meetings with President Barack Obama. It's even been suggested that Stewart has been working “in concert” with the president, casting the comedian’s integrity into question.

On Wednesday's “The Daily Show,” Stewart addressed the controversy head-on, and insisted that the conspiracy “sounds so much more awesome” than what actually happened.

“Something is not a secret just because you don’t know about it,” Stewart said, pointing out that his visits were documented in the public White House log. “If the president tells you to [meet him] and you don’t, who the fuck knows what would happen?”

Stewart went on to reveal that he’s actually been “summoned” over the years by a “surprisingly wide variety” of famous and powerful people, from “tech giants to financial captains to Billy Joel.” But just like his meetings with the president, these encounters have not been sinister.

“The general thrust of all of those meetings or phone conversations are the same,” said Stewart. “Basically it’s this: ‘Jon, why are you such an asshole?’”

Watch the video above to hear Stewart talk about his meetings with the rich and famous, and give a play-by-play account of his White House encounters with Obama.

Stewart is fast approaching the end of his tenure as host of “The Daily Show.” His final day will be August 6.

Earlier on HuffPost: