Jon Stewart wants everyone to 'stop pretending' corporations can support Pride

Jon Stewart is fed up with companies co-opting LGBTQ+ Pride for their own bottom line.

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The Daily Show host recently roasted the cringe-worthy Pride campaigns of several corporations, including Burger King, Skittles, and Target. Stewart claimed that companies have recently been using the queer community for their own financial gain after decades of turning their backs of them.

“Pride Month is, of course, that time of year when corporations get together and financially exploit the decades-long struggle of gay people for acceptance and equality," Stewart said in Monday's episode. "Remember when you were fired from that bank job after you were outed? Well, Burger King does! With a burger that has two bottom buns!"

Stewart delivered the joke next to an onscreen article about a Burger King campaign that promoted "two equal buns" on their burgers for Pride Month. The comedian then turned his attention to Target, which recently announced it will only be stocking Pride merchandise in half of its stores this year after conservative outrage impacted sales.

While many were disappointed that the company seemingly stopped supporting its queer customers, Stewart questioned if it is even possible for corporations to support causes, whether they be LGBTQ+ Pride, Black Lives Matter, or "traditional American values."

"Why are we allowing ourselves to get worked up over whether giant multinational corporations are pro-gay or have traditional American values?" Stewart asked. "Because corporations have but one value: shareholder value. That’s all they have. There is nothing corporations do that is not in service of their bottom line."

He continued: "Let’s stop pretending that a corporation can even be woke or unwoke or patriotic or unpatriotic. Let’s just let corporations live their truth as the profit-seeking, Patrick Bateman psychopaths they are. At the very least, we might finally get some honesty.”