Oh absolutely. This is a very open secret in show business.
Back when Sylvester Stallone was [promoting Creed on the late night circuit, he claimed that Michael B. Jordan got knocked out for real on set by Tony Bellew. The crowd ate it up.
Now, Creed was a great movie. As a lifelong boxing fan, I was surprised by how authentic a lot of it felt, like grounding the romanticism of boxing with its realities (broken hands, brain damage, crushing poverty). The fake HBO promos in the film looked like the real deal. There were a bunch of great cameos in there too, like Stitch Duran, Andre Ward, Gabriel Rosado, and a guy who looks suspiciously similar to Roger Mayweather.
But there is absolutely no way that Michael B. Jordan actually got knocked out on a professional Hollywood set. What major movie studio is thinking, âHey, letâs allow our A-list starring actor to risk a concussion on set so he could bring our 35 million dollar production to a grinding halt. In fact, letâs also waste millions of dollars on insurance for a boxing movie with no stunts so Michael B. Jordan canât sue us and Tony Bellew into the Stone Age after he takes a heavyweight knockout punch right to the face.â
Nothing can compare with the shit show that was the Jesse Jackson AMA, in my opinion. That one was legendary for its awfulness and being the rumored catalyst for the shake ups last year.
Jon Stewart manages this, too. Stephen Colbert also gave Joel Osteen a tough time when he had him on his show. Osteen is a health and wealth preacher while Colbert is a staunch Catholic, so ideologically, they were very much at odds.
I think in those cases, thereâs a mixture of things going on:
The guests in question are so reviled by Stewart and Colbertâs respective fan bases that playing softball with them wouldâve been seen as straight up shilling. Late night promotions are a subtle art.
The hosts genuinely donât like the guests but want to get some shots in. Even if the guest is getting criticized, itâll still boost sales for whatever theyâre promoting because if they can stand their ground, they may win over some curious viewers on the fence. If they âloseâ the exchange, the guestâs existing fan base will perceive it as bullying and come out in support anyway.
Ultimately, itâs great for ratings. If Stephen Colbert announced that Donald Trump will be appearing on The Late Show, youâd be a liar if you told me you wouldnât tune in. It would attract everybody: Colbert fans eager to watch Trump get eviscerated, Trump fans waiting to see what latest garbage their Mammon has to spew, journalists drooling over the prospect of all the hot takes they could write about this, and everyone else who are just there for the popcorn and carnage.
I guess it makes sense that politicians and Church leaders are held to account more than movie stars, at least on late night TV. It is still a little sickening to see Wahlberg get a pass though.
And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Jon Stewart has quit! His replacement is pretty funny, but not a fraction of the interviewer that Stewart was.
Oh sorry! Yes, Iâm a big Daily Show fan. In retrospect, I shouldâve made all Jon Stewart references in past time. Maybe itâs cause my heart is still pining for him to come back on camera.
