"Comedy shouldn't be an act of courage": Jon Stewart's powerful statement on Charlie Hebdo shooting

“I know very few people go into comedy as an act of courage, mainly because it shouldn’t have to be that"

Published January 8, 2015 2:37PM (EST)

 Jon Stewart     (Comedy Central)
Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)

On Wednesday night, Jon Stewart momentarily dropped the satire, and began his show with a moving tribute to those killed in the Charlie Hebdo attack.

"Our hearts are with staff of Charlie Hebdo and their families," Stewart stated. "I know very few people go into comedy as an act of courage, mainly because it shouldn’t have to be that. It shouldn’t be an act of courage, it should be taken as established law. But those guys at Hebdo had it, and they were killed for their cartoons."

Stewart later explained that the show's goal was "not to make sense of this because there is no sense to be made of this." Rather the goal was, as always, "to keep going." Watch the moving clip below:


By Sarah Gray

Sarah Gray is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on innovation. Follow @sarahhhgray or email sgray@salon.com.

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Cartoons Charlie Hebdo Comedy Jon Stewart Satire The Daily Show Video