The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Desi Lydic on Tucker Carlson's Firing & Women in Corporate America | Catherine Reitman

Episode Date: January 9, 2024

Daily Show correspondent, Desi Lydic, had her week of guest hosting The Daily Show! She covers president Joe Biden's re-election campaign, Fox News firing Tucker Carlson, and the women-specific downsides to corporate America. Plus, Desi sits with her friend, producer and actress, Catherine Reitman, to discuss their first acting roles together and the final season of "Working Moms."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Stewart here, unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show, we're gonna be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. You're listening to Comedy Central. Let's begin with some shocking news about the 2024 presidential election. It turns out that the guy who has spent his whole life wanting to be president now wants to continue being president. We do have real breaking news this morning as President Biden is officially announcing

he is running for re-election. The president launched his campaign with a video that took aim at Republicans over abortion, social security, and culture wars. When I ran for president four years ago, I said we're in a battle for the sole of America, and we still are. This is not a time to be complacent.

That's why I'm running for re-election. That's right. Joe Biden is running for re-election. Well, not running, exactly. The man is 80 years old. Let's say he's stair lifting for re-election. Yeah. If Joe Biden... If Joe Biden does win, he would be 86 years old when he reaches the end of his second

term, hopefully. Which is one reason why 70% of Americans don't think he should run again. And to be fair, 86 is old, not just for a president but for any job. If my lift driver rolled up and was 86 years old, I'd be like, do you need help getting home? But I don't know, maybe it would be good to have an old man president. You know, if the economy collapses, he could just find never-ending supply of quarters behind your ear. But there is there is one thing Joe

Biden has going for him. Donald Trump. Shockingly, polls show that most people don't want him to run either. And in Trump's case it's only partly about his age. It's also about his tendency to steal stuff like classified documents and the election. Not to mention, this guy's in court every other week, hush money, tax money. He has a new trial starting in New York today and you barely even knew about it. Trump is in so many different types of legal trouble, he can be in every spin-off of law and order. I'm going for a crime e-god. So those are America's choices.

A guy who's in his 80th year of life and a guy who's facing 80 years to life. A guy who's facing only has two people. Although, there is one other person who suddenly has a lot of time on his hands. Tucker Carlson. Yeah. Yesterday, Carlson got fired from his job at Fox News, and it was a huge surprise to everyone, including Tucker. Apparently, they only told him 10 minutes before announcing it publicly, which is so cold. And that's barely enough time to pack up all his Nazi memorabilia. Not to mention, he was Fox's most popular anchor and they still fired him.

That'd be like if MSNBC fired... Well, imagine if there was a show people watched on MSNBC. It would be like firing them. And look, I know people love making fun of Tucker, but just put yourself in his shoes. Say you're this massive piece of shit with no real friends, and you got a giggle-me-elmo, and a dumb, floppy haircut, and you always have your mouth hanging open, like you're dry in your teeth. I forgot where I was going with this.

Oh, uh, Tucker's an asshole. Now, we still don't know exactly what got Tucker fired. Maybe it was election lies that cost Fox News $787 million. Maybe it was insulting his bosses in private text. Maybe it was his overall vibe of creepy dad driving the babysitter home. Or maybe it was this. The Daily Beast reports that Tucker's repeated use of the Sea Word was a key factor in his demise. According to text

messages from the Dominion lawsuit, Tucker referred to Trump lawyer Sidney Powell as the Sea Word and a former producer at his show alleges she heard the word around the office constantly. Female politicians who came on the show were mocked. There were debates about who they'd rather sleep with. Sea word all the time. They use the seaword all the time? Like, how do you use the seaword at the office all the time?

Oh, Susan's taking lunch orders? Tell that, I'll just have a sa-salaid, hold the c-p-k'k. You know what, do you want to share a k-k'k? For the audience at home, I know that just got bleeped. I just said the word k-k'k'k. But you know what, you know what, it's okay. Tucker's allowed to say the C word because he is one. Let's begin with an update on former Fox News Grand Wizard Tucker Carlson.

Last night, Tucker re-emerged for the first time since he was fired, recording a personal video from his business sauna. Good evening, it's Tucker Carlson. One of the first things you realize when you step outside the noise for a few days is how many genuinely nice people there are in this country, kind and decent people. The other thing you notice when you take a little time off is how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are. They're completely irrelevant. They mean nothing.

In five years we won't even remember that we have them. Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren't many places left, but there are some, and that's enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon. Wow, good for Tucker. Even though he's isolated in a remote cabin somewhere, he's still getting his message out, just like the Unabomber. And you know what, you know what, let's give Tucker credit for not saying the sea word

once during this video. Bravo, Tucker, I know, I know that was really hard for you. Although it is funny how he said when you step outside the noise, people are actually pretty nice. Buddy, you are the noise. Your entire show was you being mean to people, trans people, immigrants, women, lady M&Ms. Tucker complaining about people being mean is like Guy Fieri complaining about how there are no salad shows. Meanwhile, CNN's female expiration date checker Don Lemon was also fired this week. And he's handling things much differently. Don Lemon spoke for the first time at a star-studded event,

appearing on the red carpet at the annual Time 100 gala in New York City. What is next for you, Don, Don, I don't know????. I. I. I. I. I. I. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I th to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the first time at a star-studded event, appearing on the red carpet at the annual Time 100 gala in New York City. What is next for you, Don, Don, Don Lemon is going to have the summer of a 12-year-old? Yep, Don Lemon's going to have the summer of a 12-year-old. Yep, Don Lemon's going to have the summer of a 12-year-old. So I guess getting horny while reading the the their-a-a-a-a-a-ss-s-s-s-s-s-s. I tucke-s. I tucky-s. I tuckiii-s. I thi-s. I thi-s. I tie-s. I thi-s. I thi-s. tiannipe-s. tianniphomom-s. to-s. to-s. to-s. to-s. to-s. to-s. I I-s. I-s. I-s. I-s. I-s. I-s. I-s. I-s. I's to-s. I's to-s. I's tooomomomomomomomomomomomomomomomom. I's tooenenennenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenene-s. to-s. to-s. todease-s. toddue-s. Yeah. Yeah. I'ma-s. Yeah. Yeah. I'ma-s. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'ma-s. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. t- of a 12-year-old, so I guess getting horny while reading the Harry Potter books? I like how Tucker's like, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to fight for the truth. And Don Lemon's like, I'm gonna go boogie board. Don, listen, you don't need to go back to being a 12-year-old to live your best life. Don't let anyone tell you your pastor prime. too. John Stewart here.

Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Sturt, wherever you get your podcast. In the last few decades, women have made big strides in the workplace. We're no longer getting harassed while wearing big, ugly shoulder pads. It's 2023, now we're getting harassed while wearing super cool big shoulder pads.

Needless to say, corporate women still face challenges. When it comes to the CEOs of the largest companies, women are still vastly underrepresented. There are currently 38 female CEOs at the S&P 500, and women's CEOs are 45% more likely to be fired than their male counterparts. There's also evidence that women who are appointed to the top job aren't necessarily set up for success. High-level women are often promoted during a time of crisis. It's a phenomenon called the glass cliff.

Women who negotiate are 67% more likely than women who don't to receive feedback that their personal style is intimidating to aggressive or bossy. When women have a child, their earnings decline for each child by 4%. Wow. Whereas men, there's a fatherhood bonus and they actually earn more. When they have children, it's called a motherhood penalty. That's right. It's really hard to be a woman in the corporate world.

And they didn't even mention the fact that the office is always so freaking cold. It's no wonder women have to work harder. It's the only thing that will keep us warm. With all the challenges women are facing in the workplace, I thought it was important to offer some mentorship to the next generation of female leaders. Take a look. Hi everybody. Hello. Hi, my name is Desi and today I'm going to tell you how to climb your way to the top of the corporate ladder just like the boys and

sometimes it means playing dirty and sometimes it's going to be an uphill battle. All right. Look to the person to your right. Now look at the going to be an uphill battle. All right, look to the person to your right. Now look at the person to your left. Okay we're still learning rights and left. By the end of today only one of you will remain. Ebelin yes. We don't want to be boys but we should be like the boys not in a way that we're like the boys but we're going to be like empowered women we're gonna get extremes accomplished then we're gonna get money then we're going to put in our bank account and get more money. Yeah because you worked for it and I think what did she what is the key takeaway is

that we want to beat the boys yeah but we want to fill our pockets with money. Okay, who in your nose what a CEO is? Hey! No! Nobody knows! B. You're up. You want to be a CEO? Um, you're sure? Do you know what a CEO is? Yeah. No. No. Chief executive officer. I have no idea. You're the boss. So like, you're like, you know how a teacher is the leader of the classroom?

Oh, yeah. And they're in control of everything happening in the classroom? Oh, yeah. It's just like that, except they don't have to pay out of pocket for office supplies. So, okay, part of making it to the top of corporate America is knowing how to negotiate for yourself. Do you know what that means? No! No! What does it mean to negotiate? Okay, the most important thing about negotiating for a raise is that you're touting your accomplishments.

What chores have you been doing lately? Have you been adding value to your family? Have you been, say, helping your brother tie his shoes? That's mentorship. I don't know how to tie shoes. Do you know how to slip on a pair of pumps? Yes. Do any of you want to be mommy's?

Mommy's? Yes. I live your mommy. Okay, wonderful. That'll be $40,000 up front. What do you mean? It's called the mommy tax. Nobody has that kind of money.

What about $9,000? I like the attempt to negotiate, but no, it's a hard and fast 40 grand. Okay there are two types of CEOs. Has anyone here heard of Elizabeth Holmes or Anna Delby? Is Anna Delby the person who was pretended to be like the Russian heiress or whatever? Why yes she is. You are my prize student. Here's the lesson we learned. You only know the names of the women who have done illegal things. Okay. Bell, congratulations.

You are now our new CEO. You now get to clean up the mess that the previous CEO made. What? But you said being a CEO was good. Yes. It is, but it's not always fair. I'm keeping the bag, but I'm not painting that out. And that is how we negotiate. My guest tonight is the creator and star of the hit Netflix comedy series Working Moms.

Please welcome my good friend Catherine Reitman. Oh my gosh! Oh my goodness! Look at this! So Catherine and I met, how many years ago? Just a few? Just like two or three. We're so young. Impossibly fresh and young.

Yeah. We met doing a hidden camera prank show that I believe NBC called their worst prime time ratings in history Something like that. I think they might have said that yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but you know what? They say that about all the shows that we were very special. We really were. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we really were. And this was my first big break the real wedding crashes and I think it was yours too. It was mine too. thin' the thin' th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' that that that that that that that that thin' that that their that their their their, they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they's they's they's they's they's they's. they's. they's they's. thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' that. that. thin' that. that. that. thate. thate. the. theateat theat that theateat theateat theate. I theateate. I theate. I thate. I they're they're they're they're thate. I think it was yours too. It was mine too. We did for 10 weeks in Vegas and we somehow made it out alive. I don't know how. I mean by the skin of her teeth.

I was slapped. A bitch slapped me. True. True. A bride who was in on it. A bride who was in on it. Just five-fingered afford a medic the budget was so low you just had to like Grun and Barrett. I just held a coke to my cheek and now has that ever happened on working moms Got and slap yeah right in face Danny kind who plays and on the show loves to slap a bit she'll get in there she's very physical I love her for it.

I love it oh my god so you I mean you're one of those actors who has always been the total standout in everything that you've been in. You're so damn funny. You're constantly working, steal every scene, but now suddenly there's this baby of your seven seasons. Isn't that crazy? Of working moms. Oh my, 83 episodes? Yep. Dropping on Netflix this Wednesday, April. I think that's the initial, you created it, you star in it, you direct it, you executive produce it. What is it like seeing your baby all grown up like that? It's wild, you know, I mean I entered the show thinking, all I'll probably get one season and I'll just try to be as authentic as I can tell all my stories, cram it into one season and each season that we got picked up for another one

I was in disbelief. I still am. It's so good. It's so funny and it feels it genuinely I know you you're a friend like it feels like you. It feels you can tell that you put so much of yourself into it. You cover just in this I may have snuck a few episodes of this last season because I got a friend. She's got a hook up. I got a hook up. Don't be asking me. And just in just in the season you explore so many themes and issues that are so important you have an entire storyline on the male birth control bill. That's right. Yeah you explore de-stigmatizing shame in female sexuality, marriage ruts, the complexities of female friendships. How do you get ideas for these stories? I guess I just live, you know what I mean?

Yeah, just a day in the life of a woman. I mean, and I'm sure your audience could speak to this. It's like having a kid, and I mean, just watching this incredible show to the horrifying statistics of what it means, to go back to work, the their their their to work, and to work, and to work, and their, and their, and their, and their, and to to their, and their, and to their, and their, and thi. thi. to, and thi, and, and, and I'm, and, the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, and, and, thi, and, and, and, and, their, and, their, and, their, and, and, their, their, and, their, their, their, their, their, thi.a, thi.a, thi.ei.eiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.ea.ea.ea. I's, their, their, their, of what it means to go back to work knowing that you're going to be looked at differently for being a mother was so paralyzingly terrifying to me. I didn't even know I had postpartum depression when I started the show. And getting through, I had a three-month-old when we started shooting. And when we wrapped the show, and I all of a sudden realized, like, I feel like I feel like I white knuckled through it. Like I don't think I took a breath until they said cut the last time. Yeah and that was part of the

inspiration for the show right you having gone through that and thinking like there aren't shows out there that really dive into these topics. They're sure more now. Seven years ago it was a wasteland. I mean I couldn't find any A storyline, meaning the main plot point of the show, about a woman who happened to be a mother and work. I mean, look, on work and moms, the actual amount of time where you see the female characters with their kids is like 5%. This is about women being something outside of the nursery. It's a woman in the workplace show, and yeah, they've got to juggle it all and try to have it all whether that's possible or not.

Do you think it's possible? Yeah. Who got this, right? Totally. Not affecting us at all. So you can have it all, but not all at the same time. I think someone's wise said that. It's different for each person, right?

We all have our ways of sort of working it out of making sacrifices. The guilt is real. The guilt is real. You said something about mom guilt that really stuck with me. You sounds like me. Yeah, very profound. You you said something in regards to the way that you talk to your children about going to work. Yeah I don't say I to to to to to to to to to to the to to to the their. to their. their. their. the the. to to the the. the the. the the. to the the. the the. the the the the their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the te. tea. tea. tea. their. their. the the the the the the the guilt is. the guilt is. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the guilt. the the the way that you talk to your children about going to work. Yeah, I don't say I have to go to work. I say I get to go to work. And I just flip that tone. I go, like before I flew to New York to do this lovely thing with you, I told my kids I'm so excited. You guys I've never gotten to do this sort of thing. I'm so happy with it and th it and th it and th it and th it and th and th and th and th and th and th and th and th th and th the they they they they they they they they they they they they that and that and that. And that is that is that is that. And that. And that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thateeeeeateeateate. I told to to to to to to to thateee. I thate. I thi to thi to to of me. And then tonight, they were like, we're so excited for you. And that ship's great. That's so beautiful because you are following your passion. And you're clearly meant to do this.

And you bring so much joy to so many people. And you're teaching them that they can one day do that too. And that's really important, that's really powerful. Or marry a woman that takes care of them. Yes. Yes. Yes. Also wonderful. Also very powerful.

You work with your husband on the show. He plays your actual husband. Yes. He also is an executive producer and directs on the show. How does this work because there was a very brief time time time time time time time time time time time ti ti ti ti ti the the the the ti, ti, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, thi, thi, thi, to, the, thi, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to, the, the, to, to, to, to, the, the, the to, too, too, too, too, too, too. too. too. too. toooooo. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. the. thi. the. a very brief time during the pandemic when we were filming from home, and I one time asked my husband to hold the camera and we almost got divorced. How do you navigate that? It's tricky.

I mean, we've definitely had some serious fights. There's a, but then you also find ways, I mean, look, for those of us who work in separate places on our husbands or wives, you get to come home and try to share what happened and there's sort of like a lack of connection because you can't talk about what you've done. When I get home, Phil knows exactly what I've done. Right. He witnessed all my wins, but he also witnesses when I fail. So that makes it really complicated. Lucky for me I got a guy who's a serious cheerleader, you know, he's, yeah, he's had my back.

It was his idea to push me into writing this thing in the first place, so. Thanks, Phil. Well, you're lucky to have each other. You're lucky to have each other. You're lucky to have each other. I am. I am so grateful for you making the show because I finally feel like there's a show where working moms are seen and it means a great deal to me and it's such a joy to see you do your thing and shine your light because you are just you're you're

a total inspiration so I'm really happy for you and I'm proud that I get to be your friend. Can I return the favor real quick that how amazing is it? That we broke our teeth on the first real we went out? to. to.. to. to be to be to be to be to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to their their their th. th. their their their their, their, th. their, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi thi thi. thi. thi. theeat, their, their, they. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their our teeth on the first real Wedding Crasher show, which was a hit, maybe not critically acclaimed, but it was a hit. Really, real critical darling. Yeah, totally. We were doing some really cool stuff there, actually, but I get to now witness your first night hosting the Daily Show Podcast Universe by searching the Daily Show, wherever you get your podcasts.

Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Hey, everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, coming out every Thursday. We're going to be talking about the election. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls?

We're going to be talking about ingredient-to-bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.