Marc Maron Says Jon Stewart Feud Was ‘Sparked’ by ‘Insecurity’

Marc Maron has once again addressed his long-standing feud with Jon Stewart, saying it is “entirely fueled” by Maron’s “insecurity.”

“Jon never did anything to me,” Maron said Esquire. “I was just jealous.”

Maron has previously spoken about his rivalry with the ‘Daily Show’ host, saying it goes back to when they both emerged on the comedy scene in the 1990s. Maron was one of Stewart’s successors as host of the Comedy Central clip show “Short Attention Span Theater” before it was canceled in 1994. Stewart would soon host “The Daily Show” and become one of the most recognizable faces in comedy.

Maron was jealous of Stewart because he saw him as a “smart, cute, Jewish man” who was “disciplined” and knew how to best utilize and exploit his talents. “I never had any control over my talent. I never knew what its limitations were or what it was,” Maron said.

“Throughout my early career, Jon, who is about my age, was everywhere,” he added. “My envy of him was always…I just shit on him, and in his face. It was exhausting. I couldn’t get through a week without him being on the cover of a magazine. For some reason I saw him as, ‘If I could just get my shit together, I could be more like that guy.’ … That wasn’t true, because I was crazy and I was definitely after something else.”

When asked by Esquire if he ever tried to get Stewart on “WTF,” his nearly 1,700-episode podcast that ended earlier this week, Maron said he made an offer “early on” in the show’s run. He recalled telling Stewart about the podcast on the phone and “apologizing a little bit.” According to Maron, Stewart said, “There’s no love here.”

“He said, ‘Maybe I’m willing to have coffee or something, but I’m not going to do that with you,’” Maron said. “And then he said, ‘I’m sure what you’re doing is very creative, and good luck with it.’ Just the stinging condescension of that…it didn’t help anything. And now he’s doing a podcast. So the circle is complete!”