Marc Maron Says Jon Stewart Feud Was ‘Fueled’ by ‘Insecurity’: ‘I Was Just Jealous’ and ‘Jon Never Did Anything to Me’

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

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

Maron has previously spoken about his rivalry with the “Daily Show” host, saying it dates back to when they both came up in the comedy scene in the 1990s. Maron was one of Stewart’s successors as the host of the Comedy Central clip show “Short Attention Span Theater,” before it was canceled in 1994. Stewart would soon go on to 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 guy” who was “disciplined” and knew how to best harness and capitalize on his talents. “I never had any control over my talent. I never knew its limitations or what it was,” Maron said.

“Throughout my early career, Jon, who is roughly my age, was everywhere,” he added. “My envy of him was always … I would just shit on him, and to his face. It was consuming. 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 only have my shit together, I could be more like that guy.’ … Which wasn’t true, because I was out of my mind, and I was definitely gunning for something else.”

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 put out an offer “early on” in the show’s run. He recalled telling Stewart about the podcast on the phone and “kind of apologizing.” According to Maron, Stewart said, “There’s no love here.”

“He said, ‘I might be willing to have coffee or something, but I’m not doing 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, full circle!”