BREAKING NEWS
OK LogoNEWS

Watch Jon Stewart & Bill O'Reilly Debate Rapper Common's White House Poetry Reading

2011__05__Jon_Stewart_Bill_OReilly_May17news 300×238.jpg

May 17 2011, Published 5:05 a.m. ET

Link to FacebookShare to XShare to Email

Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly engaged in debate is nothing new, but their recent war of words was a bit different. The talk-show powerhouses were at odds last night on The O'Reilly Factor over an invitation extended to the rapper Common to take part in a poetry reading at the White House last week.

Common's invite was met with dissension from conservatives who claim that the rapper "celebrates violence and cop-killing in his lyrics, and therefore had no place performing at the White House," Fox News reports.

Article continues below advertisement

"It's just so lacking of class and decency," Sarah Palin said of President Barack Obama's invite to the rapper.

Jon decided to tackle GOP's outrage on The Daily Show. The political satirist quipped that, "(Common was) subject of Fox News Channel's latest exercise in fits of hissy."

Bill wasn't going to let it slide, so he invited Jon on his show to debate the topic.

"It's a poetry slam. Who gives a crap?" Jon said.

"A lot of people do," Bill shot back.

Jon maintained that he wasn't trying to call the conservative backlash on Common's invite wrong, but that they needed to be "consistent" with their "outrage." He referenced a story of Leonard Peltier — a man who was convicted of killing two federal agents back in the '70s.

MORE ON:
Jon Stewart
Article continues below advertisement

"Guess who wrote a song about Leonard Peltier? Bono. Guess where he was? The White House. Booh-yah!" Jon demanded.

But the host fired back, "You know this guy is sympathizing with two cop killers. You know that."

"I don't know him," Jon replied.

Bill added, "That's enough for a sitting president to say, 'You know what? This guy might be radioactive.'"

Article continues below advertisement

Later in the show, Jon pointed out, "By the way, songs are not literal. When The Weather Girls sing, 'It's raining men,' it's not really precipitation of males."

"Stop attacking The Weather Girls; I like them."

Bill did thank Jon for stopping by the show and said he found him "smarter and funnier than most liberals." The second part of their debate will air tonight.

Catch Jon and Bill debate in the clips below and read a full transcript of their discussion on Foxnews.com.

Part 1

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

Part 2

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

Advertisement

Want OK! each day? Sign up here!

Opt-out of personalized ads

© Copyright 2024 OK!™️. A DIVISION OF EMPIRE MEDIA GROUP INC. OK! is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Offers may be subject to change without notice.