Jon Stewart Emmy Speech: ‘You Will Never Have To See Me Again’

Jon Stewart knows how to make an entrance. And as his speech after The Daily Show earned the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Talk Series demonstrated, Stewart knows how to make an exit.

Jon, who served as the host of The Daily Show for 16 years, was at the top of his comedic game in delivering a hilarious speech to accept the show’s final honor, Entertainment Weekly reported.

“To everybody on television, I just want to tell you: cling to it as long as you can. Like death. Like in the Titanic, the guy who was… cling to it.”

Stewart joked that his hiatus from hosting The Daily Show had been underwhelming.

“I’ve been off of television for 6 weeks, 7 weeks, whatever it is. This is the first applause I’ve heard. It is a barren wasteland out there, where they say hello, whatever… Out in the world, there are tables with food, but you can’t take it. It costs money. Very little of it is gluten-free or vegan.”

After thanking Comedy Central for his television run, Jon had a potentially prophetic quip to the audience to end his speech.

“Thank you so very much. You will never have to see me again.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8XJutmlluA

The Daily Show received four nominations this year in its format, and has a grand total of 60 through 2015. In addition to the overall award, the show claimed the Emmy for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series. In all, Jon Stewart has led the show to a total of 11 wins in the Outstanding Variety Series category.

To win the award, The Daily Show and Jon Stewart had to beat out two other hosts and shows that were finishing their run, including another Comedy Central standout. Stewart and his show won the award over the Late Show With David Letterman, The Colbert Report, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Week Tonight, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Stewart gave up the reins to The Daily Show in August. Trevor Noah will precede Jon, and Noah’s first show will air September 28.

As for his future plan, Jon Stewart gave little clues as to what they might be, Variety reported.

“I may just end up on a boat somewhere floating out to an island. I’m not even sure yet.”

What do you think of the speech Jon Stewart delivered at the Emmy Awards? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]