Boycott Season Hits Nike, The New Yorker And Ryan Gosling - The daily show

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that America, under Trump, is more politicized than ever, because although this country has always had its issues, people used to be able to escape by turning off the news. But now, politics is just like a track featuring Cardi B. It's everywhere you go. And just this week, politics even reached the moon. This morning, a controversy over Ryan Gosling's upcoming movie First Man. It explores the life of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. But the film is coming under fire weeks before its release for a moment from that historic mission that isn't shown. MAN: The film, which premiered Thursday at the Venice Film Festival, does not include that famous moment where the American flag is planted on the moon's surface. WOMAN: Several conservatives are even pushing for possibly a boycott of the film, but actor Ryan Gosling, who plays Armstrong, defended the decision by saying that Armstrong's moonwalk transcended countries and borders. This was widely regarded, in the end, as a human achievement. I don't think that Neil viewed himself as an American hero. Okay, Ryan Gosling is such a beautiful idiot, all right? (laughter) Like, when Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, he didn't say, "This is a giant leap for mankind." He said, "One small step for man. America (bleep) yeah!" (imitating rapid, upbeat guitar tune) (notes reverberating) You didn't hear it 'cause of the vacuum in space. Now, honestly, like, I don't understand why conservatives are so angry that they're planning to boycott a movie about America landing on the moon, because, apparently, there are American flags throughout this movie, right? They just didn't show the exact moment that Armstrong placed the American flag on the moon. All right? But no one is going to walk out of that movie and be like, "Wait. Were those astronauts Korean? -I couldn't tell." -(laughter) And also, on the other side, I don't think that Ryan Gosling is right. Right? I don't think that it wasn't an American thing. The moon landing was very much an American thing. And to be honest, as someone from the rest of the world, we don't want credit for America's moon landing. Right? 'Cause I don't know what happened up there. We saw the astronauts come down, they planted the flag, and then the video cuts off, right? For all we know, as soon as that clip ended, they did a genocide of all the native moon people and just buried them in a mass grave somewhere on the dark side of the moon, and then someday the moon people are gonna come down to Earth and be like, "You guys did this to us," and we'll be like, "Uh, no, we didn't do that, "the Americans did it. "Can you see the flag? The flag? That wasn't us. The flag." (cheering, applause, whistling) But still... but still, either way, many conservatives have said that they will be boycotting this movie. And then the liberals said, "Oh, yeah? Well, we'll boycott something, too." Facing mounting pressure, The New Yorker has dropped plans to interview Steve Bannon during its festival next month. The former Trump aide was supposed to be a featured guest at The New Yorker's prestigious gathering, but numerous celebrities and even some New Yorker staffers scheduled to attend the event threatened to pull out if Bannon participated. Okay, I don't know what The New Yorker magazine was thinking. I mean, like, how are you gonna invite a white nationalist like Steve Bannon to be the headline interview for your "Ideas Festival"? I mean, this is a man whose least offensive idea is that scabs are edible. And because of Bannon, because of Bannon, many people cancelled, right? John Mulaney pulled out. Jim Carrey pulled out. I was so offended by this that I refused to even be invited months ago. -(laughter) -Months ago. Seriously, like, I don't know how The New Yorker didn't see this backlash coming. Like, you invite Steve Bannon to anything, and there's gonna be backlash. Like, there have been raccoons who have left the dumpster because Steve Bannon dropped in for a visit. But in any case, now many liberals say that they'll be breaking up with The New Yorker. And then just yesterday came the biggest boycott news of all. Nike launched their new campaign to celebrate 30 years of "Just do it." Right? Including an ad with Colin Kaepernick that says: "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." Yeah. Which seems really uplifting with Kaepernick's photo, but it's also the motto of many gambling addicts. -Don't forget. -(laughter) Now... millions of people... (laughter) ...millions of people love this ad. I love how some of you are catching it later. (laughter) Millions of people love this ad-- like, it went viral all over the Internet-- but then the other shoe dropped. Some outrage after Nike picks Colin Kaepernick as the new face of its 30th anniversary "Just do it" campaign. This is scummy, this is lousy, this is rotten, and I'm never buying another Nike product again, and I think millions of Americans are gonna agree. NEWSMAN: Several people posting videos on social media burning Nike shoes, ripping logos off their clothing. Wow. People are so angry, they're burning their own shoes? (laughter) You realize Nike already has your money, right? -(laughter, cheering, applause) -They've already got your money. You're only hurting yourself. Like, I would love to see how they would protest Home Depot. "All the walls in my house must go!" (laughter) And also, I'm not gonna lie, I don't know about you, but those flaming Nikes just make me want to pay even more. Like, look at them. It's like... it's almost like an ad. It's like, "Those shoes are so fast, he burst into flames, man!" And I'm not gonna lie, I love this campaign. I love the idea of the campaign. I love what Colin Kaepernick is doing. But honestly, I do feel a little bit bad for all of these people who are out there on the alt-right and conservative, because you realize we live in a world now where brands are taking stands on political issues. But they don't give anyone a warning first, they just spring it on you. Yeah. Some of these dudes were walking out of the store yesterday with their new Nikes, and people were like, "Yeah! Resist!" And they're holding the box like, "Wait. What? No! No! No! I just needed arch support! No!" So, as it stands, some people say they're now gonna buy Nikes to support Colin Kaepernick's protest, and others say they'll never buy Nikes again, because the shoe disrespects the troops. All I know is, it's only a matter of time before we ask as many questions about the politics of a product as the product itself. It's gonna be us walking into stores where the service guy coming up like, "Hey, buddy, can I help you with anything?" Be like, "Yeah, I really want to buy this toaster, but first, what are its views on abortion? Can you let me know?"