The Daily Chauvinists?

A couple weeks ago, Irin Carmon at Jezebel wrote a piece critical of The Daily Show's hiring and employment practices.

The next day, Carmon noted some poor arguments being used to defend The Daily Show.

A week later, she responded to an on air mention from Jon Stewart (a quick throwaway: "Jezebel thinks I'm a sexist prick!") with a strange back-pedal/double-down, with flattery like "my mom loves you. I love you!" and barbs like "thanks to Helen Mirren last night, the show has now had 66 men as guests this year, compared to 14 women."

So now, The Daily Show not only hires unfairly, it also books unfairly. I guess it should be a 51/49 ♀/♂ split, because, you know, the guest list is pretty much taken straight from the general population.

Carmon defends her original piece as a thoroughly researched and data driven piece, getting the help of "as many people with direct experience of the show" as possible. Here's a rundown of the evidence she presents:

Olivia Munn is the only new female correspondent in seven years.

Samantha Bee is currently the only other female correspondent. (Kristen Schaal debuted in 2008, but she's just a contributor.)

Female correspondents don't last a long time on the show. (In contrast, I guess, to male correspondents who get full tenure immediately.)

Lauren Weedman didn't feel secure working on the show. (In contrast, I guess, to male correspondents who get all the love they need.)

A "former executive" says Stewart "runs The Daily Show with joyless rage." (…which is the the same thing as sexism.)

There's an old story about Stewart throwing some paper at Madeleine Smithberg, who is a woman.

Stacey Grenrock Woods (a correspondent for 4 years) felt like it was a boy's club.

According to "one show veteran", "emotional vulnerability is like blood to a shark," so I guess since women are emotionally vulnerable, it's a bad mix. (Carmon's logic uses this to explain why "many women felt marginalized." Is there some reason a surly environment is OK for men, but not for women?)

Adrianne Frost felt that her "grateful and thankful" behavior came across as "'needy, crazy, insecure.'" (Apparently she just feels it's that way with women.)

Carmon does provide counter arguments from Bee, who dismisses gender as a barrier to her success, and Allison Silverman who felt she got "nothing but support." She even quotes Smithberg (who survived the paper attack) saying "I don't think that there is a double standard at the Daily Show."

And in a rather backhanded acknowledgment of improvement, Carmon both notes that last year two women were hired as writers, and dismisses the gesture saying that doesn't make "a female-friendly environment."

No. Apparently, in addition to such masculine themed bits like Ed Helms getting a mole removed, you need to also have a bit about going to the gynecologist. Weedman's pitches on women's issues had to have been rejected for being too girlie, because every pitch about scrotums has made it to air. And Schaal's pieces devoted to women's issues are… not what Weedman wanted. And hiring Munn doesn't count because she's too pretty. And even tho Beth Littleford was hilarious, she was pretty too. And Bee and Schaal don't count because they don't help this line of argument. (Tho Schaal is very cute in a subversive likable way.)

Well, who cares what I say. Read the open letter from The Daily Show women, here.