In Redskins Segment, Stewart Says ‘Daily Show’ Would Not Air Misrepresented Interviews

Redskins fans featured on ‘Daily Show’ tried to revoke consent before segment aired (The Washington Post)

Hours before a controversial segment of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” aired Thursday night, a lawyer for the four Washington Redskins fans featured in it sent one of the program’s producers a letter revoking their consent to appear in the piece.

The attorney, Virginia state Sen. J. Chapman “Chap” Petersen, asserted in the letter to Matt Polidoro, one of the program’s producers, that the fans were persuaded to go on the show based on “intentionally false” statements. The fans were recruited after being assured that there would be no face-to-face confrontation with Native American opponents of the Redskins’ name, said Peterson, a Democrat who represents Fairfax County.

But during the Sept. 13 taping at a Dupont Circle hotel, “Daily Show” producers surprised the fans by bringing in a group of Native American activists for a showdown over the name. The move led to a heated confrontation, leaving one fan so distraught that she called police two days later alleging that she had been subjected to a hostile environment. The police told her no crime had occurred.