Author: Erin Carlson

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Jon Stewart and Bassem Youssef

Jon Stewart, on hiatus from The Daily Show to direct his first feature film, has taped an appearance on Bassem Youssef‘s Cairo-based comedy show to air Friday.

Stewart dropped by Al-Bernameg (The Program) on Wednesday to return the favor almost two months after Youssef, aka “Egyptian Jon Stewart,” made a cameo on The Daily Show.

Youssef’s popular satirical program, watched by more than 30 million Egyptians, routinely takes potshots at the government, landing the host in trouble with officials, and has turned the former heart surgeon into a global hero for his rebellious — an humorous — TV takedown of the country’s political brass.

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Earlier this year, Youssef was arrested in Egypt for allegedly insulting Islam and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. He was released on bail of 15,000 Egyptian pounds ($2,250), in March, and a month later, was a guest of honor in New York City at the Time 100 gala for the “Most Influential People in the World.” 

“They think they can get away by their own agenda and they will tell you, ‘Oh yeah, it’s a democracy, you can say what you want but … be polite. Be nice. Be presentable.’ It’s like, what is that?” Youssef said on The Daily Show during his New York visit.

Stewart, meanwhile, is embarking on his directorial debut on the film, Rosewater, which will shoot in Jordan beginning in mid-July. The movie is based on Iran-born journalist Maziar Bahari‘s memoir Then They Came for Me. Bahari was held in solitary confinement in a Tehran prison for three months in 2009.

Bidding farewell to Daily Show viewers on June 6, and handing off temporary hosting duties to John Oliver, Stewart admitted: “I just hope dearly that I don’t screw it up.”

Twitter: @ErinLCarlson

Email: erin.carlson@thr.com

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Paula Deen

Paula Deen, who has come under fire for admitting she used the N-word, dropped out of her scheduled live interview with the Today show on Friday at the last minute.

Matt Lauer informed viewers on air that he spoke with the Food Network chef on Thursday, and she agreed to an exclusive sitdown with the NBC co-anchor where the discussion would be “open and candid, no holds barred.” By Friday morning, however, Deen apparently changed her mind. According to Lauer, her representative said Deen was backing out, just ahead of Today‘s 7 a.m. air time. 

“Her publicity people have told us that she’s exhausted and will not be showing up,” said Lauer, relaying that Deen had told him the day before: “I don’t know how to be anything but honest.” 

Lauer said Deen had flown to New York Thursday night. Al Roker, discussing Deen’s no-show on Today, called Deen a friend of the show and said he hoped she would reconsider because “she really needs to address this.”

In a deposition for her current discrimination lawsuit, in which the 66-year-old and her brother Bubba Heirs are being are being sued by a former employee, Deen admitted to using the racial slur in the past, but said she wouldn’t use it today.

On Thursday, Paula Deen Enterprises released a statement in defense of her confession, saying: “[Paula] was born 60 years ago when America’s South had schools that were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans rode in different parts of the bus. This is not today.” Deen, the statement read, “does not find acceptable the use of this term under any circumstance by anyone nor condone any form of racism or discrimination.”

Representatives for Deen and The Food Network did not immediately respond to The Hollywood Reporter‘s request for comment on her decision to pull out of the Lauer interview.

Lauer tweeted Friday, “Hoping to get more info on the Paula Deen situation soon. Very confusing.”

Twitter: @ErinLCarlson

Email: erin.carlson@thr.com

John Oliver

Daily Show fans need not lament the absence of beloved host Jon Stewart: his temporary fill-in, John Oliver, has got it covered, and on his first day subbing for Stewart, managed to make the Comedy Central late-night staple his own.

“I am John Oliver, and let’s all acknowledge for a moment that this is weird. This looks weird, it feels weird, it even sounds weird,” said the British comic in Monday’s opening monologue.

“If you hadn’t heard by now, Jon Stewart is going to be away for the summer. He’s gone to a small Italian village to learn how to cobble shoes,” he quipped, drawing big laughs with a reference to Daniel Day-Lewis. (In reality, Stewart is is taking the summer off to direct his first feature film.)

STORY: John Oliver Will Try Not to Destroy ‘The Daily Show’

Over the course of the show, Oliver, 36, channeled Stewart’s mix of bemusement and exasperation but with an added dose of self-deprecation. He’s “barely out the door, and it turns out that not only is the government tracking everyone’s phone calls, but that’s just the tip of the [bleep]-berg,” complained the Daily Show correspondent, who predicted in an earlier interview with The Hollywood Reporter: “The ratings are going to go down.”

Here is the substitute anchor-satirist’s opener, which leads — not surprisingly — with commentary on the National Security Agency leaks.

Oliver also introduced the new segment “Good news! You’re Not Paranoid,” which “is brought to you by tinfoil.”

During his first on-camera celebrity interview with Seth Rogen, Oliver confessed to having an “anxiety dream” involving Jaden Smith in which he faced retribution from Will Smith after giving the teen a negative review of After Earth.

Twitter: @ErinLCarlson Email: erin.carlson@thr.com