Before the cancellation of The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+, Apple forbade the inclusion of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan as a guest and steered the show away from confronting issues related to artificial intelligence, according to Jon Stewart.

This isn't the first we've heard of this rift between Apple and Stewart. When the Apple TV+ show was canceled last October, reports circulated that he told his staff that creative differences over guests and topics were a factor in the decision .

The New York Times reported that both China and AI were sticking points between Apple and Stewart. Stewart confirmed the broad strokes of that narrative in a CBS Morning Show interview after it was announced that he would return to The Daily Show.

Enlarge (credit: Michael Reaves / Stringer | Getty Images North America )

Lawmakers apparently balked after learning that Apple canceled the critically acclaimed weekly streaming talk show, The Problem with Jon Stewart , last month—reportedly over issues with the show's planned programming related to both China and artificial intelligence .

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives' Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party urged Apple to explain its decision to end production of The Problem with Jon Stewart and "accelerate its efforts to reduce its dependence on" China. These steps, lawmakers wrote, are critical to help address "broader concerns about indirect Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence over the creative expression of American artists and companies on CCP-related topics."

While lawmakers acknowledged that Apple has "the right to determine what content is appropriate for their streaming service," they argued that "the coercive tactics of a foreign power should not be directly or indirectly influencing these determinations."

Enlarge / Jon Stewart on his Apple TV show. (credit: Apple)

Jon Stewart and his weekly talk show The Problem with Jon Stewart are out at Apple, according to reports from The New York Times and Variety . Apple canceled the show just weeks before its third season began taping. Its cancellation sheds some light on the conflict of priorities Apple faces as it leans more into content rather than just selling tools, platforms, and gadgets.

The New York Times article cites "several people with knowledge of the situation," saying that staffers working on the show were told at the end of the day Thursday that it would not move forward.

The reason for the shift? Stewart and Apple executives "had disagreements over some of the topics and guests," the sources said. Specifically, they claimed Stewart told staffers that Apple execs took issue with planned programming related to both China and artificial intelligence, and noted that with the 2024 US election coming up, there might have been additional opportunities for disagreement then.