Jon Stewart responds to Labour suspending Faiza Shaheen: "What the actual f**k"

American comedian Jon Stewart has hit out at the Labour Party after it suspended a candidate over liking one of his old skits.

Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a snap general election to be held on 4 July. Following the announcement, candidates representing all political parties have been launching campaigns in a bid to win their respective seats.

However, Labour hopeful Faiza Shaheen was told late on Wednesday night (29 May) that she would not be endorsed by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to stand for the Chingford and Woodford Green seat, over allegedly liking posts on social media discussing Israel and anti-semitism.

Comedian Stewart was alerted to the fact that one of the posts Shaheen liked was a skit from The Daily Show, in which he pointed out that questioning Israel’s actions in Gaza “is not the same as being pro Hamas”. It is believed to be one of the posts which led to her being barred from standing for Labour.

The American responded to Labour’s actions, writing: “This is the dumbest thing The UK has done since electing Boris Johnson…what the actual f**k…”

In a post on Thursday (30 May), Shaheen said, “I’m in such shock, but I’m a fighter”. It comes after she claims she was alerted late in the evening, via email, that Labour’s NEC was not endorsing her as their candidate.

Speaking on the BBC’s Newsnight programme with Victoria Derbyshire around an hour later, the new mother alleged that the press had been briefed before she had even been made aware of the decision.

Shaheen explained that the Labour party had concerns about 14 tweets she had engaged with over the past decade.

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