'The Daily Show' airs infamous Redskins segment - Los Angeles Times
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‘The Daily Show’ airs infamous Redskins segment

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Jon Stewart introduced the segment on the Washington Redskins name-change controversy on “The Daily Show” on Thursday with an unusual disclaimer.

Most of the time, Stewart will simply set up the taped bit with a little bit of context by mentioning current events. But a recent story correspondent Jason Jones recorded, in which he brought defenders and critics of the Redskins name together in a hotel suite, got advance press.

After the segment was taped, two fans of the team, who defended the name and showed up decked out in Redskins paraphernalia, told the Washington Post they were unhappy with how they’d been treated.

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“I felt in danger,” fan Kelli O’Dell told the Post.

The fans were upset that Native Americans were brought into the room with them to discuss their opinions over the name.

After the build-up, Stewart told viewers beforehand, “We take the complaint seriously. We generally don’t want people who participate in our show to have a bad experience.”

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He said they work hard to find people who are willing to express their beliefs on the show and then work equally hard to make sure they are accurately represented on the show.

“If we find out that someone in a piece was intentionally misled or if their comments were intentionally misrepresented, we do not air that piece. We would not air that piece. So that being said, I hope you enjoy the following piece.”

Stewart did not say if the way the segment was edited changed after the criticisms, but it did seem like the confrontation between the Native Americans and the fans was downplayed at the end. And no audio was used.

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What did the two sides actually say to one another? We may never know.

You can watch the entire segment here.

Follow me on Twitter: @patrickkevinday

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