Last night, Jon Stewart turned to the recent troubles associated with Canadians Rob Ford and Justin Beiber, and how the media treated their antics with that of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.
Our neighbors to the north in what they call Canada are battling troubles of their own.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN (1/30/2014): Believe it or not, things keep getting worse for Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
Believe it or not, they're getting worse? Believe it or not?? I've never heard anything more believable in my life! It would be far more surprising to hear:
"Believe it or not, Rob Ford is introducing a new fragrance." Or "Believe it or not, I just read this really interesting piece in the New Yorker by Rob Ford." Or "Believe it or not, when I go away, I have Rob Ford watch my children." (audience laughter)
So what did Sir Smokes-A-Lot-Of-Crack do now?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN (1/30/2014): The admitted crack smoker now being sued for allegedly trying to have his sister's ex-boyfriend beaten up in prison.
Well they sound like a lovely family. (audience laughter) Beaten up in prison? What, is Rob Ford trying to take control of the cell block before his inevitable arrival? Surprising foresight from the man the Canadian media has officially dubbed "crack mayor Rob Ford". What possible reason did he have to want his sister's ex-boyfriend to be beaten up in prison?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN (1/30/2014): Well, according to the suit, to keep Scott McIntyre quiet about Ford's abuse of drugs and alcohol.
Yes, because if not for Scott McIntyre, how would we ever have learned about his drug and alcohol abuse? He's done such a good job of keeping it on what we call "the DL".
ROB FORD: Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine.
NEWS REPORT: Mimed another councilman driving drunk
(Ford bumps head into TV camera)
ROB FORD: I'll rip his fucking throat out. I'll poke his eyes out. I will fuck, when he's dead, I will make sure that motherfucker's dead.
(Ford drunkenly in bad Jamaican accent talking at fast food restaurant)
ROB FORD: It said that I wanted to eat her pussy, Olivia Gondek. I've never said that in my life to her. I would never do that. I'm happily married. I've got more than enough to eat at home.
(wild audience laughter)
(whispers) Shhh. I don't want anyone to find out I have substance issues.
Hey, it's Rob Ford, you expect this sort of thing from him.
NORAH O'DONNELL (1/30/2014): Pop star Justin Bieber is charged with assault this morning in Canada. ... Bieber is accused of beating a limo driver in the head last month.
Let me see if I can re-enact that scene.
LIMO DRIVER: Uh, yeah, hey, is the temperature OK back there?
JUSTIN BIEBER: YEEEAAARRGGGHHHH!!!!!! (claws furiously at limo driver) I WANT THE ATMOSPHERE LIGHTS ON!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
LIMO DRIVER: All right, I'm just gonna put the privacy shield up.
(audience cheering at graphic)
What the fuck's going on in Canada?
1/30/2014:
THOMAS ROBERTS: Bad boys of Canada, Justin Bieber and mayor Rob Ford.
JON SCOTT: Canada's two bad boys, back in the headlines.
ABC WORLD NEWS NOW FEMALE ANCHOR: Talking about Justin Bieber's scandal.
ABC WORLD NEWS NOW MALE ANCHOR: Love the Biebs.
MARTHA MacCALLUM: But we love Rob Ford a little bit, don't we though?
BILL HEMMER: You got Rob Ford and Justin Bieber in the same town. How are they going to manage that?
("Blame Canada" plays)
Aw, it's funny! It's just a little joke! They're just a couple of playful scamps... accused of committing major felonies. It's not like they said things loudly in a postgame celebratory interview.
FOX9 (1/20/2014): That Sherman on the thug side of things.
BOB BECKEL (1/24/2014): He still is a thug.
ED SCHULTZ (1/23/2014): According to Deadspin, the day after Sherman's interview, the word "thug" was used 625 times on television.
Yeah, that's right, Richard Sherman's a thug! The thugs aren't the dudes accused of actual violent crimes. It's the Stanford-educated cornerback who talked too loud after the game.
I can't imagine why I just assume it's due to some deep systemic bias... against Seattle. We'll be right back.
Video below the fold.
Jon also looked at how
Atlanta basically shut down after getting 2 inches of snow with
Aasif Mandvi.
Meanwhile, Stephen looked at how the NFL is looking to
allow medicinal marijuana, and talked about health concerns with
Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada.
He then had on the mayors of both Super Bowl teams,
Seattle's Ed Murray and Denver's Michael Hancock to make a friendly wager.
Stephen talked with New Orleans Saints QB
Drew Brees, and Jon talked with House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi, which of course went long. Here's the unedited interview in three parts.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3